Rock slide closes US-52 at Coal Heritage Road in McDowell County

A rock slide shut down US-52 at Coal Heritage Road in McDowell County, disrupting one of the county’s most important travel links through the Elkhorn-Eckman corridor. West Virginia 511 reported the slide at Elkhorn and said crews were responding on the busy route.

The blockage hits a road that carries far more than local traffic. US-52 is a main corridor for McDowell County residents, freight, emergency response and access to nearby communities and businesses, making any closure along Coal Heritage Road an immediate daily-life problem for drivers moving through the county’s southern end.

The slide also lands on a corridor that state transportation officials have long treated as central to the proposed King Coal Highway. The West Virginia Department of Transportation says the highway concept, first advanced by the legislature in March 1999 through the King Coal Highway Authority, would run through McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Wyoming and Wayne counties along existing US-52.

McDowell County’s stretch of US-52 has also faced repeated infrastructure concerns. In November 2021, the state announced replacement of the Superior Bridge over Elkhorn Creek because the 1945 structure was rated in poor condition. In the same announcement, officials said the Kimball Slab Bridge over Laurel Branch, built in 1932, also rated in poor condition and was slated for replacement.

The route has a history of slide-related closures as well. In a previous rockslide on US-52 at mile marker 5.17, all lanes were closed and traffic was detoured to State Route 44, a reminder of how quickly a slope failure can cut off a major county artery. West Virginia 511 continues to provide real-time traffic, road conditions, incidents and weather updates for drivers trying to navigate the shutdown.