Work was underway this morning to remove most of a 300-foot long, 12-foot high retaining wall behind the Stage Coach Plaza in Dumfries that toppled over early Wednesday morning during the heavy rainstorm.
Dumfries Town Manager Dave Whitlow was not surprised when he heard that the cement-slabbed wall pulled away from the embankment and into the right-of-way of Old Stagecoach Road. The incident was reported at about 1 a.m. Wednesday.
“We have been after these people for over a year about this retaining wall and the fact that it was leaning and in danger of failing,” Whitlow said. Luckshmi, LLC, of Herndon, is the owner of the Stage Coach Plaza where the retaining wall is located.
With more rain in the forecast for later this week, shoring up the embankment as quickly as possible is a concern, Whitlow said.
“The remainder of the property is tenuous enough already,” Whitlow said. “If we get the inch or so [of rain,] they could loose another big chunk of the bank and the parking lot [up on top of the hill,] if they don’t go in and do something to stabilized it.”
One lane of Old Stagecoach Road, which runs behind the plaza, was blocked off Thursday morning and the entire road may be closed off for periods of time as work continues.
About 75 percent of the thick cement slabs were laying flat on a portion of the road.
Prince William County Public Schools, which use Old Stagecoach Road, to bus children, has been notified to use alternative routes while the clean up work is being done, Whitlow said.
Staff writer Aileen Streng can be reached at 703-878-8010.
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