Blowing Rock council awards $985,000 contract to repair Valley View landslide; FEMA reimbursement expected

The Blowing Rock Town Council voted Oct. 14 to award a $985,000 contract to Mountain Crest LLC for permanent repairs to a catastrophic slope failure on Valley View Road that severed access to Old Orchard.

The repair scope, developed with McGill and Associates and geotechnical consultant Catawba Valley Engineering and Testing, calls for a temporary soil-nail wall to maintain access during construction and a permanent gabion-basket wall to stabilize the slope. Town staff said the work is expected to be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), though actual reimbursement will follow completion and the town’s submission of documentation.

Council approved the low (and only) responsive bid opened Oct. 9 after an initial solicitation failed to draw three bidders. The bid of $985,000 was approved with an additional contingency (discussed by staff at the meeting) to cover unforeseen costs. The council’s vote to award the contract passed unanimously by voice vote (see “Votes at a glance”).

Shane Fox, town manager, summarized the procurement and FEMA coordination, saying the town began soliciting bids Aug. 26 and re-issued the solicitation after receiving a single bid on Sept. 25. “The low bid or only bid was Mountain Crest LLC in the amount of $985,000,” Fox said. He told the council FEMA has reviewed and approved the proposed repair method and that the town will pursue reimbursement after work is complete.

Jared Wright of McGill Associates described the geotechnical findings and the chosen repair method. “Ideally, a lock-for-lock replacement was considered... Ultimately, that option was not selected due to it really being infeasible,” Wright said, explaining crews found bedrock beneath a saturated, viscous soil layer that allowed the slide. He described the permanent design as including two walls: a soil-nail wall for temporary shoring to maintain at least one lane of traffic during construction, and a long gabion-basket wall of rock-filled wire baskets to stabilize the slope.

Wright and town staff described the failure as substantial: roughly a 500-foot-plus slide length with about 300 feet of elevation change from the top to New Year’s Creek, following the Sept. 27 storm that delivered more than 20 inches of rain to the area. Town staff warned that construction will be complex because Valley View is a narrow road and all material and equipment must be trucked in.

Timeline: Fox told the council the contractor expressed optimism about starting soil-nail and shot-crete work before winter, but that much depends on temperatures and winter conditions because concrete operations are weather-sensitive. Fox said staff expects a pre-construction meeting within about two weeks and will provide a more detailed schedule after that meeting.

Votes at a glance: The council approved awarding the Valley View permanent repair contract to Mountain Crest LLC, low bid $985,000, with an additional contingency. The council motion passed by voice vote with the record showing five affirmative votes (see Actions). Construction is expected to be reimbursed through FEMA’s Public Assistance reimbursement process; the town will submit for reimbursement after work is complete.

Background: The failure occurred after Hurricane (storm) in late September 2024; staff and consultants said the town has worked with FEMA and multiple engineering firms since the event. Town staff said other slope repairs using gabion baskets have been successful in Blowing Rock.

Next steps: Town staff will hold the pre-construction meeting with Mountain Crest LLC and provide the council with a construction schedule and public notifications for affected residents. FEMA reimbursement will follow the town’s completion and reimbursement requests.