https://www.facebook.com/shencosheriff/ ... 7281656033
Drive up the back side of the mountain if you go.
Woodstock Road is washed out
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Ward Odenwald
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Re: Woodstock Road is washed out
Thanks for posting the link Matt but I'm not a facebook member and don't want to join just to see the damage. If you or someone else could post a screen shot of the washout photo(s), I'd appreciate it.
Thanks in advance.
Ward
Thanks in advance.
Ward
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silverwings
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Re: Woodstock Road is washed out
This is a post from Northern Virginia Daily about it:
On Monday, crews from the Virginia Department of Transportation went to Woodstock Tower Road with the intent of opening the gate to vehicle traffic. Ken Slack, a VDOT spokesman, said VDOT closes the road following snowfall because snowplows can’t safely plow portions of it.
“They had enough snow melt that they were planning on reopening,” Slack said. “They went and of course they drive that stretch just to make sure that there weren’t any fallen trees or whatever, whether there’s anything that’s going to make it unsafe.”
He said crews found part of the road had eroded away.
“This is one of those mountain roads that is basically built on a shelf that parallels the ridge line,” Slack said. “And a portion of the roadbed and the roadway had washed away and went down the embankment.”
The gate to Woodstock Tower Road will remain closed until VDOT is able to repair the road. Slack said that he didn’t know yet what the costs will be or how long it will take to repair itd.
Potentially complicating the matter is the fact that VDOT has some other roads in Alleghany County, including a primary road that gets significantly more traffic than Woodstock Tower Road, also give way recently.
Slack said that a materials division with VDOT, a district geologist and a residency staff in charge of maintaining the road would be looking at the road. That materials division inspects the material of the road and looks at what the road is being built on, he said.
“They’ll get their heads together and take a look at what the best options are for moving forward,” Slack said.
On Monday, crews from the Virginia Department of Transportation went to Woodstock Tower Road with the intent of opening the gate to vehicle traffic. Ken Slack, a VDOT spokesman, said VDOT closes the road following snowfall because snowplows can’t safely plow portions of it.
“They had enough snow melt that they were planning on reopening,” Slack said. “They went and of course they drive that stretch just to make sure that there weren’t any fallen trees or whatever, whether there’s anything that’s going to make it unsafe.”
He said crews found part of the road had eroded away.
“This is one of those mountain roads that is basically built on a shelf that parallels the ridge line,” Slack said. “And a portion of the roadbed and the roadway had washed away and went down the embankment.”
The gate to Woodstock Tower Road will remain closed until VDOT is able to repair the road. Slack said that he didn’t know yet what the costs will be or how long it will take to repair itd.
Potentially complicating the matter is the fact that VDOT has some other roads in Alleghany County, including a primary road that gets significantly more traffic than Woodstock Tower Road, also give way recently.
Slack said that a materials division with VDOT, a district geologist and a residency staff in charge of maintaining the road would be looking at the road. That materials division inspects the material of the road and looks at what the road is being built on, he said.
“They’ll get their heads together and take a look at what the best options are for moving forward,” Slack said.
john middleton (202)409-2574 c
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Ward Odenwald
- Posts: 987
- Joined: Mon Mar 16, 2009 7:51 pm
Re: Woodstock Road is washed out
Headed out tomorrow to see the damage. Driving up the backside with a launch ETA at noon. Will post images.
Ward
Ward
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Ward Odenwald
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- Joined: Mon Mar 16, 2009 7:51 pm
Woodstock Tower Road Outer Retaining Wall Collapse
The following is an edited version of what was posted Saturday on the email forum.
The torrential, record setting precipitation that we suffered through during 2018 and this winter has not only created significant surface erosion issues at the WS launch, it has undermined the structural integrity of the rock retaining walls that are the foundation of the WS Tower Road.
Here’s a series of 9 images taken Saturday morning from approximately halfway between the 2nd and 3rd switchbacks (descending from takeoff). They highlight a growing road collapse and a section of the adjacent retaining wall ~30 yards up from this collapse that is separating from the road and most likely also close to collapse.
The rest is “my 2 cent” concerning what I found. I’m hoping that this “lay person” explanation of what’s happening on the road up to launch is nothing more than total BS and there’s an easy/fast fix to these issues. However, if I’m half right about what’s going on, the road to my favorite flying site will be closed for a long, long time!
Aligned with my current mindset about this is the Bard’s intro to Richard the 3rd.
“Now is the winter of our discontent”
Ward
Image #1: Note the larger outer retainer wall rectangular boulders at the edge of the cliff that are flanked by the road bed’s smaller underlying loose, irregular shaped rocks. The retainer wall boulders that fell away and are ~ 200 ft. below (shown in image #6).
Image #2: The collapsed area may be growing as evident from the dirt on last nights snow/ice and from rocks falling down the cliff while I took these photos.
Image #3: The large snow covered boulder (lower right) was most likely part of the retaining wall. Also note, the cracks in the pavement suggesting that the collapsed area is unstable and growing.
Image #4: Another view of the road collapse highlighting the difference between the retaining wall and the roadbed boulders. The large boulder at the bottom left of the image was most likely part of the retaining wall (similar to the large rectangular boulder in image #3).
Speculation -> once the retainer wall collapses, the road’s underpinning made up of smaller, irregular shaped randomly stacked rocks lacks the structural integrity to maintain the road.
The torrential, record setting precipitation that we suffered through during 2018 and this winter has not only created significant surface erosion issues at the WS launch, it has undermined the structural integrity of the rock retaining walls that are the foundation of the WS Tower Road.
Here’s a series of 9 images taken Saturday morning from approximately halfway between the 2nd and 3rd switchbacks (descending from takeoff). They highlight a growing road collapse and a section of the adjacent retaining wall ~30 yards up from this collapse that is separating from the road and most likely also close to collapse.
The rest is “my 2 cent” concerning what I found. I’m hoping that this “lay person” explanation of what’s happening on the road up to launch is nothing more than total BS and there’s an easy/fast fix to these issues. However, if I’m half right about what’s going on, the road to my favorite flying site will be closed for a long, long time!
Aligned with my current mindset about this is the Bard’s intro to Richard the 3rd.
“Now is the winter of our discontent”
Ward
Image #1: Note the larger outer retainer wall rectangular boulders at the edge of the cliff that are flanked by the road bed’s smaller underlying loose, irregular shaped rocks. The retainer wall boulders that fell away and are ~ 200 ft. below (shown in image #6).
Image #2: The collapsed area may be growing as evident from the dirt on last nights snow/ice and from rocks falling down the cliff while I took these photos.
Image #3: The large snow covered boulder (lower right) was most likely part of the retaining wall. Also note, the cracks in the pavement suggesting that the collapsed area is unstable and growing.
Image #4: Another view of the road collapse highlighting the difference between the retaining wall and the roadbed boulders. The large boulder at the bottom left of the image was most likely part of the retaining wall (similar to the large rectangular boulder in image #3).
Speculation -> once the retainer wall collapses, the road’s underpinning made up of smaller, irregular shaped randomly stacked rocks lacks the structural integrity to maintain the road.
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Ward Odenwald
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- Joined: Mon Mar 16, 2009 7:51 pm
Re: Woodstock Road is washed out
Last set of 3 images. Sorry the fifth and ninth images will not upload. Will try to attach them later.
Image #6: Debris field highlighting the cliff’s vertical drop.
Image #7: Surface rippling adjacent to the collapse suggest that a larger portion of the road surrounding it may have moved.
Image #8: Another potential retaining wall separation ~30 yards uphill from the initial collapse. Note the slant away from the road relative to the lower wall and the lighter colored rock that matches the underlying roadbed of the first collapse.
Image #6: Debris field highlighting the cliff’s vertical drop.
Image #7: Surface rippling adjacent to the collapse suggest that a larger portion of the road surrounding it may have moved.
Image #8: Another potential retaining wall separation ~30 yards uphill from the initial collapse. Note the slant away from the road relative to the lower wall and the lighter colored rock that matches the underlying roadbed of the first collapse.
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Re: Woodstock Road is washed out
Thanks for the pics Ward!
I knew *exactly* where the washout had to be : At the most restricted point, where that rock outcrop forces the road closest to the edge. I've had to back down many times at that point, to allow down-mountain traffic to get by. I guess we'll have to get used to *long* HG turnaround times. Drop vehicles out front, then either down to Edinburg Gap or up to Strasburg, then cut into Fort Valley, and then up the back. Sigh!
Not the end of the world.... Sites in CA that I've flown have multi-hour turnarounds, so this is nothing compared to that. And of course, if you picked your day right and enjoyed a multi-hour flight, the added time might be a little easier to accept.
And there's the OTB option too. I've only done that a couple of times, landing within Fort Valley itself. The air was ratty when I've done it, but I remember pilots describing benign/smooth conditions on other occasions. Maybe vehicles out front *and* OTB will become the norm, until the road is repaired.
I knew *exactly* where the washout had to be : At the most restricted point, where that rock outcrop forces the road closest to the edge. I've had to back down many times at that point, to allow down-mountain traffic to get by. I guess we'll have to get used to *long* HG turnaround times. Drop vehicles out front, then either down to Edinburg Gap or up to Strasburg, then cut into Fort Valley, and then up the back. Sigh!
Not the end of the world.... Sites in CA that I've flown have multi-hour turnarounds, so this is nothing compared to that. And of course, if you picked your day right and enjoyed a multi-hour flight, the added time might be a little easier to accept.
And there's the OTB option too. I've only done that a couple of times, landing within Fort Valley itself. The air was ratty when I've done it, but I remember pilots describing benign/smooth conditions on other occasions. Maybe vehicles out front *and* OTB will become the norm, until the road is repaired.
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Ward Odenwald
- Posts: 987
- Joined: Mon Mar 16, 2009 7:51 pm
Re: Tower Road
After 9 months of closure, VDOT has almost finished its repairs!
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Ward Odenwald
- Posts: 987
- Joined: Mon Mar 16, 2009 7:51 pm
Re: Woodstock Road is washed out
Two images
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Ward Odenwald
- Posts: 987
- Joined: Mon Mar 16, 2009 7:51 pm
Re: Woodstock Road is washed out
Sorry issues with the pic uploads.
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Ward Odenwald
- Posts: 987
- Joined: Mon Mar 16, 2009 7:51 pm
Re: Woodstock Road is washed out
Ok, not sure why the images are not attached. The file sizes are small enough. Anyway, what they highlight is that the colapsed area is almost filled with concrete and all that remains to be done is to fill the rest of the hole with asphalt.
Ward
Ward
Re: Woodstock Road is washed out
Wow, that's great news, thanks for the update Ward!
(will look into the attachment problem.... maybe we're over a threshold or something)
Trying not to armchair last Sunday's conditions too much, the WS obs seemed doable late in the afternoon, and KFRR too. I decided not to look too closely
(will look into the attachment problem.... maybe we're over a threshold or something)
Trying not to armchair last Sunday's conditions too much, the WS obs seemed doable late in the afternoon, and KFRR too. I decided not to look too closely
Re: Woodstock Road is washed out
Yep around 4P it throttled back nicely. Plenty more days ahead. Bacil