A project that will fix a massive sinkhole once and for all on WV 20 in Hinton is among 31 projects included in a bed letting conducted by the West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH) on Tuesday, Sept. 12.
The project will be funded by bonds sold through Gov. Jim Justice’s $2.8 billion Roads to Prosperity program.
In June 2022, a large sinkhole opened along WV 20 near the Hinton Police Department after an old underground drainage structure collapsed. WVDOH work crews put in a temporary drainage structure and filled the hole, but heavy rains washed out the temporary repair in November 2022.
WVDOH crews then put in a temporary bridge to span the hole until more repairs could be made. In January 2023, crews filled the hole with enough rock and dirt to fill an Olympic size swimming pool until permanent repairs can be made.
Once the project is awarded, contractors will bore a new hole under WV 20 and install a new drainage pipe to carry Brier Branch under the road.
“This will be a permanent rerouting of the stream and a closure of the old drainage structure,” said Joe Pack, P.E., WVDOH Chief Engineer of Operations. “It’s a permanent fix.”
Once the work is complete the temporary bridge will be removed and WV 20 repaved.
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