A narrow dirt road between the tiny mountain community of Bat Cave and the larger tourist mecca of Chimney Rock has taken on outsized meaning for area residents and on social media.
A group of West Virginia coal miners built the road a week ago. Over three days, they used equipment owned by their employer, Alpha Metallurgical Resources Inc. , to cut a path along the Rocky Broad River.
The single-lane dirt road provided the first vehicle access to several homes since the remnants of Hurricane Helene washed away U.S. 64/74A between the two communities. As they worked, the men encountered residents who hadn’t seen people in weeks, said Mark Staton, who owns the building that houses the Bat Cave post office and helped host the miners…