Fort Ann road remains closed after rock slide

PHOTOGRAPHER: The Associated Press

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Rock Slide

Crews have been making good progress in cleaning up state Route 4 after Monday’s major rock slide, but it’s too soon to say when the highway will re-open, a state Department of Transportation spokesman said.

“They’ve made tremendous progress,” spokesman Bryan Viggiani said late Tuesday from the scene.

“Crews are clearing away debris and chipping away at the outcropping where the slide occurred.”

The slide at 9:05 a.m. Monday near Comstock sent house-size boulders tumbling from part of a long rock outcropping across the road, and has closed 11 miles of highway between Fort Ann and Whitehall to all but local automobile traffic.

Nobody was hurt in the incident.

Officials said they hope the road can re-open later this week. Viggiani said state geologists inspected the rock outcropping Tuesday, and are formulating recommendations that could impact the re-opening schedule.

Given the weight of the rocks that fell, he said patching and perhaps paving of damaged road surface will be required before the road is ready for use again.

“The idea is we will open it as soon as we can,” Viggiani said.

Route 4 is a major route between the Capital Region and central Vermont, used by 8,000 to 9,000 vehicles per day. The state’s recommended detour is 21 miles long, though local traffic can use parts of Route 4.