FROM HIGHWAY DISTRICT 12 IN PIKEVILLE

FLOYD COUNTY, Ky. –  KY 1428 in Floyd County between mile points 11 and 12, the site of a recurring mudslide, has now been shut down until further notice. Highway District 12’s Chief District Engineer Mary Westfall-Holbrook made the decision in the interest of public safety.  “There have been too many times in the past month when the road has been blocked by material coming off the hillside,” she said. “No matter how hard our crews work each time to clear the road, it seems the next slide is bigger and more dangerous. We simply cannot, and I will not, put the public at risk.”

Westfall-Holbrook said that she and her senior engineers assessed the hillside yesterday and determined that there is still a considerable amount of material that is unstable and could end up on the pavement at any time. “We are supposed to have as much as three more inches of rain the next few days. At some point we have to realize that we are putting people at risk. Until the hillside dries out and the potential for a recurring problem can be mitigated, the road will remain closed.”

Allen Maintenance Superintendent Todd Harris said that there are no houses or businesses in the slide area. “People just won’t be able to go from Lancer to Prestonsburg through Goble Roberts and Sugar Loaf. There are other ways in and out that are safer than going through the slide area.”