Members of Kiewit Infrastructure South Co., which was awarded the contract to completely rebuild the Virginia Creeper Trail, with disaster recovery funding through the Forest Service, brief USDA Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz (R) and other leaders to discuss the plans moving forward.
On September 28, 2024, Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane. The intensity and size of this storm created an immense swath of damage across, destroying vast portions of the Virginia Creeper Trail, a 34.3-mile, mixed-use trail that runs along old railroad beds and bridges in southwestern Virginia. Roughly 17 miles of the trail traverses the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
446 days later, on December 18, 2025, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, USDA Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz, joined other dignitaries to break ground in Damascus, Virginia, for a project to repair trails, bridges, and roads destroyed during the storm.
(Forest Service photo by Preston Keres)
| Date Taken: | 12.20.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 01.20.2026 12:54 |
| Photo ID: | 9484400 |
| VIRIN: | 251220-O-LX350-1663 |
| Resolution: | 3840x2160 |
| Size: | 1.13 MB |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 1 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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