(July 8, 2015)  – After stabilizing the side of the mountain adjacent to MD 135 (Westernport Road) near MD 36 (Victory Post Road) in Allegany County, the Maryland Department of Transportation’s State Highway Administration (SHA) will reopen MD 135 tomorrow. The two-lane road, which winds between the mountain side and the North Branch of the Potomac River, has been reduced to a single lane of alternating traffic since a rockslide in April. On Thursday, SHA will remove the temporary traffic signal used to alternate traffic and reopen both lanes.

To stabilize the slope, SHA cleared loose stones and unstable soils, installed new drainage devices to redirect groundwater, and implemented a solution called soil nailing, which involved drilling into the mountain surface, inserting rebar and covering it with a chain-link-fence-like material topped with a layer of concrete. SHA also installed a 60-foot-long retaining wall as an added precaution.

 

 

 

SHA’s contractors for the $500,000 slope stabilization project are Geostabilization International of Grand Junction, Co. and Carl Belt, Inc. of Cumberland. Remaining work over the next few weeks will include installation of guardrail along Vine Street at the top of the slope. Vine Street will remain closed until that work is complete.

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