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EYEWITNESS LOCAL NEWS
I-77 ROCK SLIDEfrom Eyewitness News Online I-77 Northbound Near Bluefield Reopens Week After Rock Slide Reported by:  Associated PressWeb Producer: Jeff Morris Reported: Mar. 20, 2013 3:05 PM EDT Updated: Mar. 28, 2013 12:43 PM EDT
Mercer County
, West Virginia
Traffic is moving again on northbound Interstate 77 near the West Virginia-Virginia border a week after a rock slide. Department of Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox said crews reopened both northbound lanes Wednesday night. The slide occurred March 20 at mile marker 3 in the Bluefield area. Traffic was rerouted onto U.S. 460 in Princeton where it reconnects with the interstate. Wet and wintry weather had hampered efforts to clean up the slide and reinforce the hillside. Mattox said the cleanup was a grueling job for Division of Highways crews and contractor Vecellio & Grogan Inc. Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The West Virginia Department of Transportation says the northbound lanes of Interstate 77 near the West Virginia-Virginia border might not reopen until Wednesday. The department said Monday that wet and wintry weather is hampering efforts to clean up a rock slide and stabilize the hillside. The department says it's not safe for crews to work at night. The work is being done only during daylight hours. The slide occurred March 20 at mile marker 3 in the Bluefield area. To prevent more slides, crews are pushing any loose hanging rock down the hillside with heavy equipment. Rock and debris are being hauled to a dump site along the interstate. Traffic is being rerouted onto U.S. 460 in Princeton, where the highway reconnects with the interstate. Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Despite the snow, crews were still working to clear a massive rock slide on Interstate 77 Sunday near the Virginia border. Northbound lanes of the interstate have been closed at the 3 mile marker for five days, since the rock slide took place Wednesday. Traffic is being detoured off the interstate at Exit 1 on to U.S. Route 460, and allowed back on the Interstate at Exit 9. Due to winter weather and safety concerns, crews will only work in the daytime for the next 24 hours. Work will stop Sunday night and crews plan to resume clean-up Monday morning. No information has been released on when the road will be reopened. Part of Interstate 77 near Bluefield remained closed Saturday as crews worked to clean up debris from a rock slide that happened Wednesday. The northbound lanes of Interstate 77 near mile marker 3 will be closed until further notice, as crews begin to clean up a rock slide that happened Wednesday. Traffic is being detoured off the interstate at Exit 1 and routed east on U.S. 460 to rejoin the interstate at Exit 9. The northbound lanes of Interstate 77 in the Bluefield area near mile marker 3 will remain closed until further notice, as crews begin to clean up a rock slide that happened Wednesday. A contractor is bringing equipment to the site and will be working through the night, according to a news release from the West Virginia Department of Transportation. Workers will use the equipment to push more debris down the slope. Concrete barriers have been installed slow lane to contain the debris. Traffic is being detoured off the interstate at Exit 1 and routed east on U.S. 460 to rejoin the interstate at Exit 9. The northbound lanes of Interstate 77 in the Bluefield area near mile marker 3 remained closed Thursday after a rock slide, and crews were waiting for the hillside to stabilize before work clearing the road could begin. "We are kind of letting nature to take its course and wait for the rock to come down," Carrie Bly, spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation, said. The rock slide occurred about 10 a.m. Wednesday not far from the Virginia border. Bly said the hillside that the rocks fell from was still considered to be unstable, and it was too dangerous currently to have workers and drivers in the roadway to clear the lanes. She said crews are at the scene, and work on clearing the road would begin as soon as the situation was considered to be safe. A rock slide has closed a portion of Interstate 77 near the Virginia border. Both lanes of northbound I-77 were shut down near mile marker 3, according to an alert from the West Virginia Department of Transportation. Southbound lanes remained open. Traffic is being detoured off the interstate at Exit 1 and routed east on U.S. 460 to rejoin the interstate at Exit 9. Division of Highways engineer Rob White said crews could hear cracking noises along the hillside and were waiting for safer conditions before cleaning up the slide. The Associated Press contributed to this report. MORE NEWS FROM EYEWITNESS NEWS
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