Truck Stop Recovers From Tornado Strike

GLADE SPRING, Va. -- Less than two months after a tornado devastated the area, the Petro truck stop at Exit 29 off Interstate 81 here is back in business.

The area has been quiet since the April 28 tornado struck the area -- one of many that wreaked havoc across the Southeast this spring. However, truck engines are roaring once again at Petro and that sound is music to some people's ears.

"It's going to be a long recovery for everybody," Nick Lambert, owner and general manager of Petro, told TriCities.com. "Even though we're open, we're certainly not back to the business we had before the tornado. We think it will be back, but it might take a while."

Even with many businesses still struggling to open their doors, the traffic noise from I-81 is one sign that the recovery process has started.

Another nearby company, Utility Trailer, is also up and running again with 280 employees, only slightly down from the 300 workers it had before the storm. According to the news outlet, the company is looking to have about 400 employees by the end of the year.