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Big rock shuts down old U.S. 23
Kentucky Transportation Cabinet workers clear away debris from a rock slide that occurred on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013, on KY 757, between Calgon CarbonÕs Big Sandy plant and Campbells Branch in Catlettsburg.
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CATLETTSBURG, Ky. -- Crews were expecting to work through the night Wednesday to clear a large rock from the center of Kentucky 757, or old U.S. 23, near the Marathon refinery complex and Calgon Carbon's Big Sandy plant, according to a spokesman for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.
"There's a lot of commercial traffic on the road," said Allen Blair, a spokesman for the Department of Highway District 9 office in Flemingsburg. "They usually have about 1,600 vehicles on the road per day."
The department was notified early Wednesday that a rock slide had closed the road near Campbell's Branch, Blair said.
"We brought in a contractor to break up the rock," Blair said. "We have about a half-dozen dump trucks there to remove the debris."
The contractor has a piece of equipment with a rock hammer on it to break up the rock that is blocking the two-lane road, he said.
The road likely will remain closed throughout Wednesady night and into Thursday morning, Blair said. Motorists should watch for message boards directing traffic in the area. "There are coal docks in the area, too," he said.
"We're trying to get it done as quickly as possible," he said.
Officials at the refinery complex were notified about the road closure Wednesday morning, said Sheila Fraley, a spokeswoman for the refinery complex. "We use the road, but we have other routes we can take."
