Cleanup of massive central Illinois rock slide begins

PEORIA, Ill. (AP) - A cleanup of a massive rock slide in central Illinois' Peoria County has begun.

Excavation equipment rumbled last week along Kickapoo Creek Road to start removing boulders, earth and trees that have been blocking traffic between Harmon Highway and Bartonville.

The county has seen rock slides before but officials say they have never seen anything like what happened on May 31 when a bluff gave way and sent rock, soil and trees tumbling from as high as 50 feet (about 15 meters) above the roadway.

County Engineer Amy McLaren tells the (Peoria) Journal Star that the rock slide was bigger than anything county crews are equipped to handle so the project was bid out to a private excavating company. She says the cleanup is expected to wrap up this week.

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Information from: Journal Star, http://pjstar.com