Temporary bridge to be constructed over Hinton sinkhole

Greg Jordan, Bluefield Daily Telegraph, W.Va.
·1 min read

Nov. 17—HINTON — West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH) bridge crews will build a temporary bridge this weekend over a large sinkhole on WV 20 in Hinton until permanent repairs can be made to a collapsed drainage structure under the road.

"The bridge we're putting together comes with somewhere between zero and infinity number of bolts, and we sit and attach every one," said Joe Pack, P.E., WVDOH Chief Engineer of District Operations. "During those two days, if you drive by that area, you will see as many DOH uniforms as you can imagine."

Pack said bridge crews from the WVDOH central office in Charleston, District 9, and District 10 intend to install the temporary bridge over the weekend of Friday, Nov. 18. The 125-foot bridge will be long enough to span the existing hole, even if the hole gets bigger before contractors can replace the collapsed drainage structure.

Detour during construction will be WV 3 (Hinton to Shady Spring), US 19 (Shady Spring to Beaver), WV 307 (Beaver to Airport Road), Interstate 64 (Airport Road to Sandstone), and WV 20 (Sandstone to Hinton).

Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com