Retaining wall collapses in Dumfries

Work got under way Thursday to remove most of a 300-foot long and 12-foot high retaining wall behind the Stage Coach Plaza in Dumfries that fell over early Wednesday morning during a heavy rainstorm.

Dumfries Town Manager Dave Whitlow was not surprised when he heard that the cement-slabbed wall pulled away from the embankment and onto Old Stagecoach Road 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. The retaining wall is on its property behind the plaza.

With more rain in the forecast, 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 stabilize it."

One lane of Old Stagecoach Road, which runs behind the plaza, was blocked off Thursday morning and the entire road may be closed for periods of time as work continues.

About 75 percent of the thick cement slabs were laying flat on portions 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.

Luckshmi LLC was told last year by the town that it needed to submit a plan to shore up the retaining wall. The first plan was submitted last fall but deemed inadequate by the town's engineering consultant, Whitlow said.

A revised and sufficient plan was submitted and approved about two weeks ago "and then comes the rain and the thing falls over," Whitlow said.

There may have been inadequate fill behind the wall and the retaining wall may not have been secured properly as well as other possible design flaws. "I can't say for sure. I'm not an engineer but that is our belief," Whitlow said.

While the plan to strengthen the retaining wall had been approved by the town, it is no longer valid.

"Now it's not a matter of shoring up what there. It's a matter of constructing a whole new wall," Whitlow said. "They've got a much bigger project to do."

Additionally, "we will certainly bill them for the time and effort we put in to any part of this," Whitlow said, that includes efforts made by town public works employees to secure the area.

Prince William County Service Authority employees were also on site Thursday repairing a sewer line break in the area of the failed wall. The break is not believed to be the cause of the wall collapse, said Melissa Hopkins, spokes-woman for the authority.

Staff writer Aileen Streng can be reached at 703-878-8010.