Landslide takes large part of NC mountain road down embankment, dramatic photos show
A landslide took away part of a road in the North Carolina mountains, leaving it impassable, officials say.
Dramatic pictures show the 150-foot section of pavement resting on a hillside in Madison County, according to a Twitter post from the N.C. Department of Transportation.
Officials say “heavy rains saturated the ground,” pushing a portion of Walnut Creek Road down an embankment on Sunday.
Western North Carolina has been drenched with rain, receiving 6.23 inches of precipitation so far this month, National Weather Service data shows. The amount is 3.94 inches higher than normal.
Part of Walnut Creek Road was closed Friday “as a safety precaution,” according to a news release from the N.C. Department of Transportation.
After the landslide, the road is shut down “for the foreseeable future,” officials said.
“This is a significant slide that unfortunately will disrupt the daily lives of residents here,” Gabe Johnson, maintenance engineer for Madison and Yancey counties, said in the release.
Resident Mary Lisenbee expects the closure of the two-lane road will take a “major” toll on travel through the mountains, according to WLOS.
“Lisenbee said her five-mile trek to church will now take close to an hour,” the station reported.
A 35-mile detour is in place for drivers commuting near the town of Marshall, roughly 20 miles northwest of Asheville.
Motorists coming from the south can take U.S. 25 South/70 West to N.C. Highway 213 and Interstate 26 before driving down Big Laurel Road to the Walnut Creek area, according to transportation officials.
“A timetable to reopen the road has not yet been determined, but at least several months will be needed to create a project design and begin repairs,” the news release said.
This story was originally published February 18, 2020 at 10:44 AM with the headline "Landslide takes large part of NC mountain road down embankment, dramatic photos show."
