CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- State highways officials say it will be several more days before W.Va. 61 is open for traffic at East Bank.

On Monday, drainage from an old abandoned mine portal caused a massive earth and rock slide that completely blocked W.Va. 61 at the western end of town. Traffic is being re-routed at Cabin Creek Road and Paint Creek Road until the blocked section of highway is cleared.

Brent Walker, a spokesman for the state Division of Highways, said the detours will be in place for several more days while contractors clear up debris and clean up the mess left from the slide.

"We could get that road open as early as the weekend," Walker said today. "We're basically just doing a major cleanup."

Hundreds of thousands of gallons of water cascaded over W.Va. 61 and tumbled over concrete retaining walls to the CSX railroad tracks and First Avenue below on Monday, and tons of rock and earth spilled onto the two-lane highway. But highways officials don't think the water got underneath W.Va. 61 to undermine the roadbed.

Walker said cleanup crews would concentrate on repairing a driveway destroyed by the rushing water and earth, clearing rock and mud from W.Va. 61 and filling areas washed away in the flooding. They'll also go to work clearing culverts and diverting the flow of water that is still coming from the abandoned mine.

Kanawha County Emergency Services Director Dale Petry said CSX contractors cleared away much of the debris on the railroad tracks on Monday. Petry was told it would take five or six days before the road cleanup is finished.

Petry said officials with the state Department Environmental Protection's abandoned mine lands division were at the site of the mudslide on Tuesday. But DEP spokeswoman Kathy Cosco said cleaning up the mess is the first priority for state environmental officials.

Once the area is stabilized and the flow of water from the old mine slows, she said, environmental officials will decide what to do about the abandoned portal.

Cosco did not know if the mine portal would be sealed, or whether drainage from the mine would simply be diverted to a less hazardous course.

"Once they get in there, they may decide it's better to leave it open and just redirect the flow," she said.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- State highways officials say it will be several more days before W.Va. 61 is open for traffic at East Bank.

On Monday, drainage from an old abandoned mine portal caused a massive earth and rock slide that completely blocked W.Va. 61 at the western end of town. Traffic is being re-routed at Cabin Creek Road and Paint Creek Road until the blocked section of highway is cleared.

Brent Walker, a spokesman for the state Division of Highways, said the detours will be in place for several more days while contractors clear up debris and clean up the mess left from the slide.

"We could get that road open as early as the weekend," Walker said today. "We're basically just doing a major cleanup."

Hundreds of thousands of gallons of water cascaded over W.Va. 61 and tumbled over concrete retaining walls to the CSX railroad tracks and First Avenue below on Monday, and tons of rock and earth spilled onto the two-lane highway. But highways officials don't think the water got underneath W.Va. 61 to undermine the roadbed.

Walker said cleanup crews would concentrate on repairing a driveway destroyed by the rushing water and earth, clearing rock and mud from W.Va. 61 and filling areas washed away in the flooding. They'll also go to work clearing culverts and diverting the flow of water that is still coming from the abandoned mine.

Kanawha County Emergency Services Director Dale Petry said CSX contractors cleared away much of the debris on the railroad tracks on Monday. Petry was told it would take five or six days before the road cleanup is finished.

Petry said officials with the state Department Environmental Protection's abandoned mine lands division were at the site of the mudslide on Tuesday. But DEP spokeswoman Kathy Cosco said cleaning up the mess is the first priority for state environmental officials.

Once the area is stabilized and the flow of water from the old mine slows, she said, environmental officials will decide what to do about the abandoned portal.

Cosco did not know if the mine portal would be sealed, or whether drainage from the mine would simply be diverted to a less hazardous course.

"Once they get in there, they may decide it's better to leave it open and just redirect the flow," she said.