BECKLEY, WV (WOAY) – New River Drive in Beckley has been closed since August 15th.
Some residents have requested that one lane be opened for traffic while the road is under construction. A small portion of the road caved in by 18 inches, making it unfit for travel.
“As bad as it was, we were fortunate that the two businesses on New River Drive are both still accessible,” said Beckley Mayor Rob Rappold. “The ‘Busy Bee Day-Care Center’ is accessible from Pikeview Drive. ‘The Moose Club,’ which is a popular area, a popular place, is accessible from Robert C. Byrd. So the two businesses are still accessible.”
Rappold added that people from the Public Works Department and the General Manager of the Beckley Sanitary Board, Jeremiah Johnson were among the first to discover that the culvert had caved in. Structural engineers have told Rappold that the road isn’t in condition to be opened.
