Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 2, 1993 TAG: 9303020214
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
START OF SPRING HOLLOW DAM CONSTRUCTION CELEBRATED
Just how large is the Spring Hollow Reservoir?Construction workers blew a factory whistle in middle of the reservoir site Monday morning to commemorate the start of work on the 243-foot-high dam.
Dignitaries gathered near the dam couldn't hear it.
Spring Hollow is that large.
The impoundment will create 4 miles of shoreline and hold up to 3.2 billion gallons of water from the Roanoke River. It will meet the drinking water needs of Roanoke County at least until the year 2040.
At $33 million, Spring Hollow is one of the largest construction projects ever in the Roanoke Valley. The total project cost, including a treatment plant and water-transmission lines, is expected to be $73 million.
The primary contractor - PCL Civil Constructors of Tempe, Ariz. - has been working for 16 months to get the western Roanoke County site ready for dam construction to begin.
PCL built roads, cleared land and installed grouting to ensure the impoundment will be watertight.
The roller compacted concrete dam will be 243 feet high and 990 feet wide and contain 310,000 cubic yards of cement, fly ash and limestone. The front face of the dam will be covered by 2,400 concrete panels measuring 4 feet by 12 feet.
The dam will take four months to complete, with PCL crews working 24 hours a day, six days a week to finish it.
County officials hope to begin filling the reservoir by November. Water from the nearby Roanoke River will be pumped through a 42-inch pipe into the basin. It is expected to take eight months to fill.
A nearby treatment plant will be designed for a capacity of 30 million gallons a day - more than five times the county's current demand.
When it's finished, Roanoke County plans to build nature trails and picnic areas around the reservoir.
For the time being, however, the reservoir site looks like a giant hole. "It's kind of hard to tell the reservoir from the landfill at this stage," county Finance Director Diane Hyatt noted.
Hyatt was one of nearly 100 government officials, politicians and business representatives who ventured out to the reservoir Monday.
A five-piece band, Brass 5, entertained the crowd before and after speeches by Reps. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, and Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke.
Members of the Board of Supervisors threw a switch that turned on a yellow flashing light - a signal for CPL crews to get cracking on the dam.
Later, the county treated the guests to a Brunswick stew luncheon and gave away hats, mugs and commemorative plaques featuring polished rocks taken from the dam site.