State officials reopened a portion of Oak Avenue that was blocked by a landslide, but a local expert said there is nothing that can be done to stop more debris from falling.

"It's a gravity thing," said Alex Glover, geologist for Zemex Industrial Minerals. "It's a fact of nature, there's nothing to do to stop the process."

The Department of Transportation placed Jersey barriers along the base of the bank, blocking one of the lanes at the stoplight. Glover said the town can install permanent barriers to block or catch falling debris, but said the construction will be expensive. He said there is no way to permanently stabilize the bank.

"It's a bad situation," he said, pointing to a large slab of exposed rock, its sections clearly slanted toward Oak Avenue. "It's like a stack of dominoes, tilted, and now loosening and falling apart."

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Original article in Mitchell News-Journal...