Rock Slide Could Keep State Highway Partly Closed For Month

LUKE, Md. (AP) -- The State Highway Administration says a western Maryland highway that's been reduced to one lane by a rock slide could stay partly closed for up to a month.

Spokesman David Buck says workers will place a temporary traffic signal along Route 135 near the town of Luke to replace a flagging operation that started Sunday.

Buck says workers have erected a concrete barrier, about 400 feet long, to catch any falling debris from the mountainside. He says any work that would close the road completely for more than 15 minutes would be limited to overnight hours.

The rock slide was reported on Saturday. Workers opened up one lane of the two-lane highway on Sunday.