VDOT News - Salem

SALEM – The Virginia Department of Transportation has temporarily opened one lane in each direction on Route 460 in Giles County, Virginia, about five miles east of the West Virginia border, after closing the road to all traffic on May 23 following a mudslide that collapsed lanes and damaged a retaining wall.

One lane in each direction on the eastbound side of Route 460 is open with pilot trucks and flaggers controlling traffic around the clock.  Drivers should expect some delays and use caution as pilot trucks will be guiding traffic into a two-way pattern in the eastbound lanes.

VDOT will continue to post messages boards along Interstate 81 and Interstate 77 for motorists traveling to West Virginia through western Virginia to consider using I-77 as an alternate route.  

Following the closure of all lanes of Route 460 on May 23, local traffic in Giles County has been able to use Route 649 (Lurich Road) as an alternative route.  With the New River cresting later today, Lurich Road is expected to flood and be closed.

Closing Lurich Road will mean that the residents in the western portion of Giles County in communities such as Rich Creek and Glen Lyn will not have a local route available to Pearisburg and points east.   

Route 460 will be opened temporarily, so these residents will have access but will be closed again after floodwaters recede on local routes in Giles County.

VDOT has been repairing the slide damage on Route 460, and crews have stabilized the slope in median to allow two-way traffic to use the eastbound lanes.  However, future work on Route 460 will require that VDOT close all lanes again, so workers can complete the remaining repairs safely.

Route 460 traffic updates and the latest Virginia traffic information are available at www.511virginia.org, through the free mobile app or by phone.

Information in VDOT news releases was accurate at the time the release was published. For the most current information about projects or programs, please visit the project or program Web pages. You may find those by searching by keyword in the search Virginia DOT box above.