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Landslide, Wal-Mart Battle Continue On Route 65

POSTED: 5:52 pm EDT April 20, 2007
UPDATED: 6:25 pm EDT April 20, 2007

What was supposed to be a way to open abandoned land for a new shopping experience has become a nightmare in the Ohio Valley.

The land on a Route 65 hillside in Kilbuck Township is sliding, and WTAE Channel 4's Janelle Hall reported that Wal-Mart may be pulling out of plans to build a large new store there.

Wal-Mart said it does not want to commit to the site until it's positive that the land will stop sliding.

At the same time, a community group is making another push to keep the retail giant out of the area.

Just off the railroad tracks on Route 65, a new billboard that reads "Are We Safe Yet?" greets drivers before they pass the site of the massive landslide at the proposed Wal-Mart site.

"The site is unstable," said Bob Keir, of Communities First. "It's still sliding. The road is still closed."

Communities First paid about $1,800 for the 30-day billboard advertisement, hoping to encourage others to speak out against the development.

"It will work. We have to keep it in people's minds," Keir said. "Everybody was very upset last September and October, even into November. Politicians were even upset. Some time has passed and people are forgetting about it. Well, the problem still exists."

Millie Kearns, who lives across the road from the billboard, is a supporter of the proposed Wal-Mart.

"There's a lot of people that are against it, but they got to realize the revenue part, the tax part," she said. "But there's a lot of things you have to look at."

Wal-Mart spokesman Jim Davis said the company will not review plans for the new store "until the stabilization of the site is permanent," and he said Wal-Mart is constantly working toward that goal.

"We would hope Wal-Mart would permanently stabilize the hillside and turn it into a park," Keir said. "We will even agree to call it Walton Park, but we'll fight every step of the way if they want to build their store there."

While the debate and the controversy over the landslide continues, drivers must deal with an outbound lane closure on Route 65 until November.


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