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The rain may have stopped, but cleanup continues in Prince Edward County. To finish doing that, officials with the Virginia Department of Transportation say they’ll need to close down a few roads in the area.

VDOT officials announced Wednesday that they’ll be shutting down portions of Route 608, beginning in two weeks. The road will be closed daily from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. beginning Monday, July 31 and approximately lasting until Friday, Aug. 11. 

The closure will start at Route 651, or Chinquapin Road, and go down to Route 683, or Saw Mill Road. VDOT officials told The Herald they will provide plenty of signage to let drivers know where the closures are and where to find and follow the detour. The detour will take drivers to Route 683, or Saw Mill Road, then to Route 15, or James Madison Highway, then to Route 460 and then back to Route 608. 

What’s left to clean up in Prince Edward?

According to Len Stevens, district communications manager with VDOT, these closures are to clear out leftovers and large debris from recent storms and flooding on that road.

“That area had a lot of debris from flooding and storms,” said Stevens. “The road is currently open, but the closures are so they can go in with heavier equipment to get the rest cleaned up.”

When storms pass through, cleanup crews do what they can to get the roads open as quickly as possible. When it comes to the larger debris, it will get pushed to the side of the road to allow traffic to continue through. Sometimes the smaller debris is left but when there are larger pieces it requires a cleanup crew to come in and keep the roadways looking nice.

According to Stevens, right now there is a large pile of debris collected, including logs and tree parts that will require a chipper and other large equipment to come in and get the lingering debris removed.