Landslide could block North Carolina highway until end of July

BAT CAVE, N.C. — State transportation officials say it will be until the end of July before workers can clear a landslide which has closed part of a North Carolina highway.

[RELATED: No word when North Carolina landslide-blocked road to reopen]

The Asheville Citizen-Times reports the North Carolina Department of Transportation says it has awarded a contract to a Robbinsville company to clear the 110,000 cubic yards of dirt and rock that slid onto N.C. Highway 9 and blocked the road in on June 5. The target date for the road to reopen is July 27.

An NCDOT spokesman says beginning last week, workers have been on site from sunrise to sunset daily including Father's Day.

The slide is about a mile north of U.S. 74-A near the Buncombe-Henderson county line. While it covers about 100 feet of roadway, it's created a 50-mile detour.

Associated Press