Route 9 in Wilder still shut down due to landslide; KTC officials developing plans to reopen

NKyTribune staff

Heavy rains the past week have resulted in a landslide near the Newport/Wilder border on Route 9, and motorists are having to find alternate paths of travel.

The Route 9 expansion has become a major source of traffic flow for the west part of Newport and Wilder since opening in 2018. The Route 9 expansion provided a more direct route for cars and trucks that once used west Newport’s residential streets.

This marks the second time in less than a year the four-lane highway near Bobby Mackey’s Music World nightclub has been shut down due to a landslide.

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet officials are working to develop “a short- and long-term plan to reopen the road and to address the slide,” according to statements posted on the department’s social media, but the road has been closed since Tuesday.

The KTC advises motorists to use Moock Road to U.S. 27 to 11th Street as a detour. Larger trucks should avoid the area and use I-275 and I-471 as an alternate route.

A year ago, a landslide in the same location caused Route 9 to be closed for two weeks.

The KTC also announced on Friday that part of Route 8 at the 12 mile marker is closed to through traffic due to a mudslide near the Thomas More Biology Station. The Mary Ingles Highway location is near the Ohio River.

KTC crews are working to clean up the debris and reopen the two-lane highway.