HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. — The state state Division of Highways is preparing for a three-month detour for U.S. Route 340 just outside Harpers Ferry.
The rock stabilization project is forcing the detour which begins Sept. 12. The detour route is explained one-page summary here.
The DOH has contracted with Triton Construction for $10.2 million to do the job to stabilize a rockslide-prone section of mountain.
“The project will require closing US 340 from September through December to remove rock and install rockfall barriers above US 340 where it hugs the Shenandoah River just south of Harper’s Ferry. US 340 is a high-traffic volume corridor carrying about 24,500 vehicles a day including local, commuter, and truck traffic from West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland,” a DOH announcement said.
The contract calls for stabilizing the corridor through rock slope scaling, localized rock bolting, and removal of potential large scale rockfall hazards. The slope will have rockfall mitigation efforts including draped and pinned mesh, ground-level rockfall barriers, and on-slope rockfall attenuator systems.
A posted detour around the project area during work will be WV 9 and Virginia SR 9 and Virginia SR 671.
The highway along the Shenandoah River was built in the mid-1950s. The cut slopes and exposed rock tower from 150 to more than 300 feet above the roadway.