Rock slide blocks Kentucky Route 28 near Chavies in Perry County

A rock slide on Kentucky Route 28 near Chavies blocked one of Perry County’s most important mountain corridors, after a local resident posted a photo warning drivers to proceed carefully. No injuries were reported in the initial warning, but the slide hit a road that serves as a daily link for residents, school traffic and anyone trying to move quickly through the county’s southeast end.

KY 28 runs through the Chavies area and continues southeast toward KY 451 and beyond, making it a critical route for people traveling between rural neighborhoods, local businesses and the rest of Perry County. The stretch matters even more because the Grapevine & Chavies Volunteer Fire Department is listed on Highway 28, putting emergency responders close to the same corridor that had just been obstructed.

The impact reaches beyond inconvenience. When KY 28 is blocked near Chavies School, parents, bus routes and morning commuters can all be forced to slow down or turn around. For ambulance crews and volunteer firefighters, a slide on this road can also mean lost minutes at the exact time quick access matters most.

This was not the first time the Chavies corridor has had slope trouble. In 2020, Kentucky Highway 28 was shut down near Chavies School because a mudslide was still coming off the hill, with Grapevine Chavies Fire Department on scene and the Kentucky State Highway Department en route to clean up the slide. Another local report later said KY 28 was closed near Chavies with traffic detoured via KY 15 and KY 1110, a reminder that one blocked hillside can ripple through several mountain roads at once.

Chavies has long been a Perry County mountain community shaped by coal and transportation history, and that history still shows up in the way roads are used and protected. Perry County officials list the Grapevine & Chavies Volunteer Fire Department on Highway 28, and Ben Stidham is the listed contact at (606) 216-4320. With the latest slide adding to a pattern of rock and mud movement in the same corridor, drivers in the area are again facing a familiar warning: use caution and expect delays where the mountain has come down before.