HARPERS FERRY, WV — Despite the three-month detour caused by efforts to mitigate rockfalls in the area between the bridges near Harpers Ferry, there’s been another rock slide.
Chestnut Hill Road was not part of those larger mitigation efforts and suffered a rock slide last week.
The Panhandle News Network reached out to the West Virginia Division of Highways.
District 5 Engineer Lee Thorne said, ” WVDOH cut down trees during a soil nail project to repair two slips on Chestnut Hill Road. Trees have also been cut along the route as part of WVDOH’s canopy clearing program.”
“WVDOH was aware of a recent rockslide on Chestnut Hill Road and any rocks that have fallen onto that road have been cleaned up,” Thorne says.
“The large boulder field where rocks have slid is not on WVDOT’s right-of-way – the land belongs to the National Historic Park Service. That means the WVDOT does not have the ability to fix the issue without acquiring right-of-way. Right-of-way is the legal right, established by usage or grant, to pass along a specific route through grounds or property belonging to another.”
The road work caused a three-month detour as work crews worked to prevent rock slides on the narrow US Rt. 340 between the bridges outside of Harpers Ferry.