2:20 p.m. UPDATE:
A landslide Wednesday in Crawford County will leave a small stretch of westbound Arkansas 220 closed for a few days, the Arkansas Department of Transportation said.
The slide tore up pavement in an area of the road south of Strickler, and spokesman Danny Straessle said it will take a few days before maintenance crews can repair the road.
Straessle said only 50 or so cars travel on the road daily, so instead of installing a temporary traffic light, signs will be put up to warn drivers of the lane closure. Westbound drivers will have to use the eastbound lane to pass the damaged area, which stretches only two-tenths of a mile.
Straessle said the road is straight with good sight lines, so it will be safe for cars to pass in the other lane.
Just feet away from the new slide is an area the department already repaired after a slide, Straessle said. A few other slides have also occurred recently near the highway, in the general vicinity of Wednesday’s slide.
Straessle said this is because heavy rains and flooding from the spring left the soil on hillsides loose in the area. He added that plans are in the works to do widespread slope stabilization.
EARLIER:
A landslide in Crawford County has closed the westbound lane of Arkansas 220 south of Strickler, the Arkansas Department of Transportation said.
A rock- and mudslide closed the westbound lane of the two-lane road around 10:35 a.m. Wednesday morning, the department said. Traffic is being directed to allow vehicles from both directions through the eastbound lane.
The closure affects two-tenths of a mile, according to the department. Online traffic maps from the department show traffic slowed in the area.
Department spokesman Danny Straessle said the landslide appears to be a new one between two areas of previous landslides. He said information is still being gathered.