Creeper and tornadoes

The following public weather statement came out this p.m. along with about a dozen others confirming the presence of tornadoes in the East TN and southwest VA area. Does anybody know if the Creeper Trail was affected? I understand that many trees in/near the big neighborhood (where NASCAR's Eric McClure lives) and golf course adjacent to the Creeper were downed. I also understand interstate 81 was closed in the Marion, VA area for a while due to the damage that eventually went on to Glade Springs.(This is after all a cycling forum, but we are saddened at the loss of life and injuries from this most deadly weather outbreak since the Great Depression).

...An EF-3 tornado confirmed in Washington County VA...

A storm survey team from the National Weather Service has completed
an assessment of the damage that occurred early Thursday morning in
Washington County Virginia...around 115 am EDT. The tornado reached
an intensity of EF-3...with a maximum wind speed of 140 mph. The
damage path began just south of Abingdon...and extended northeast
to The Glade Springs area. The path length was 18 miles long...and
the width was three fourths of a mile. There were 3 fatalities and
50 injuries with this tornado.

 

This from Don via his Facebook. Used to be Trestle 7 at the Smith Farm. Very sad.

 

Sorry to hear about all the devastation and the loss of life in that area. It has been quite a devastating spring, weather-wise, for many, many people. Hope and pray things begin to calm down soon.

 

The wreckage was so bad I didn't realize which one it was until seeing A.D.'s pics. Trestle 7 was probably the second largest one on the trail. No telling how long it'll take to replace it. Will also affect the few businesses along the trail, esp. the store at Alvaredo. I haven't had my "Creeper fix" since last fall. Guess it's True, you gotta go when you get the chance or you may not get another chance. Wife and both daughters were in NYC's twin towers 3 weeks before 9/11.

 

Yep, Trestle 7 is the one just past an old sawmill operation, out in the open at a small road crossing. The nice farmstead off to the east must be the Smith farm. You might remember that the gate there is a heavy steel pedestrian-size gate with a very stiff automotive-type shock absorber attached to it. A nice open, scenic area that we many times pause at.

There is mention also of damage to Trestle 8. And BTW, speaking of Alvarado, there's a new replica train depot that's almost finished there, they say. I haven't been through there since they broke ground for it.

Some other photos of Trestle 7:
http://www.vacreepertrail.com/information/curradvisory.html
http://www.vacreepertrail.us/

Don
Original RocketRiders Member #6, August 25, 2004

 

Awesome pictures. Creepy scary since we've been across those trestles many times. Huge timbers thrown around like so many matchsticks.

Like people flocking to a car accident, morbidly curious to have been on one end with a camcorder. Would've been the YouTube Video of the Decade.

 

Creeper repairs

Don sent this to me:
http://www2.tricities.com/news/2011/may/23/virginia-creeper-trail-mend-ar-1057376/

The Bristol newspaper shows that there is already heavy equipment working to clear the Creeper Trail valley of Trestle #7's debris. Indicates they will rebuild the trestle in a smaller form, but the valley crossing could be ready in a week or so.

 

Yeah, I would've never guessed any of the hardware was insured. Didn't say how much insurance, just that it'd be $10 mil to put Humpty back together again.

I wonder if that's common for trails, especially when the trail is one of the few sources of income for the area.

 

Creeper back

As you can see from the attached press release, the VA Creeper Trail is once again open for business end to end. Less than 8 weeks following the devastating tornado, a pathway has been built where Trestle 7 used to be.
This press release notice courtesy of Mr. 'Feetfirst" Sullivan.