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Heavy rain causes landslide; temporarily closes U.S. 52
Thursday, March 20, 2008 12:36 AM EDT
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| A mud slide along U.S. 52 near Ripley, Ohio, Wednesday afternoon slowed traffic in both directions. Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers directed traffic as workers prepared to remove the debris from the roadway. Heavy rains have caused problems throughout the area over the past several days, including flooding in some areas. -- Terry Prather/Staff |
The landslide occurred west of the William Harsha Bridge between Aberdeen and Ripley, about a mile west of Trails End.
Workers from the Ohio Department of Transportation were on the scene. Ohio State Troopers closed the road and diverted traffic in an effort to clean up the massive amount of trees and dirt which blocked the highway.
"We're bulldozing to the south side of the road," said John Dennison, a worker with ODT.
Dennison said workers would be dragging the rubble from the large portion of the road it was occupying, to the south side of the road in an effort to remove it as far away from the hill as possible.
"There's more to come down," said Dennison.
Workers feared that the continuous rain and the removal of the material in the road, more landslides would follow, said Dennison.
Dennison said that officials were originally called to the scene around 1 p.m., Wednesday, and called back as soon as 1:30 when conditions had worsened.
Trooper Chad Duzan was on the scene helping to facilitate traffic so that the workers could clean up the damage.
ODT workers said they weren't sure exactly how long the entire clean up might take.
"They're saying it is going to take eight-10 hours, at least, to clean all this up," said ODT worker Kevin Pickerill.
Pickerill said workers were afraid of what else would come down the hill as they moved more debris from the roadway. The landslide had not yet affected any electric lines, however, a large electric transmission tower at the top of the hill left workers as the rainfall continued to saturate the ground on the unstable hillside.
In Adams County, Ohio 348 was closed periodically due to high water, according to a spokesperson at the sheriff's office. Adam's County officials anticipated the usual flooding problems on Ohio 41 between Bentonville and Aberdeen.
Mason County Emergency Management Director Wayne Muse said Mason County was experiencing the normal road closures. Brandywine, Millcreek and Hord roads were all closed due to flooding Wednesday, Muse said.
Conditions were also threatening in Fleming County and Bracken County Wednesday as water was on the rise below the Walcott Bridge in Bracken County and Goddard Bridge in Fleming County. Both spans are historic covered bridges.
Contact Barbara Goldman at barbara.goldman@lee.net or by calling 606-564-9091, ext. 274.
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