News
Athens Boulder Update
By: Fred Kight
Posted on:
An Athens official says " there is the potential for another slide to occur" on Fort Street where a huge boulder smashed into a house earlier this week.
But Deputy Service-Safety Director Ron Lucas goes on to say "the city does not believe it is an immediate threat."
To try to stay on top of the situation the city is "actively undertaking further geotechnical evaluation of the site."
A number of monitoring pins were installed above the slip area and "the city will measure these pins periodically to determine if any movement has taken place that could indicate a potential rockslide or slip."
Lucas says workers started to remove the fallen boulder yesterday.
They're using a backhoe that "is outfitted with a jackhammer-type attachment and breaks the rock into small pieces."
Lucas says, "This is a slow process and there is no current estimate on when the boulder will be removed."
Meanwhile, the residents at 20 Fort Street were able to move back into their home yesterday afternoon.
Fort Street will remain closed to through traffic in the vicinity of the rockslide "while crews conduct operations to remove the boulder, make necessary street repairs and repair utility connections."