Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 23, 1994 TAG: 9401230013
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
It depicts a cowboy astride a horse charging headlong to the edge of a ravine.
"Relax," the caption reads, "Everything is under control."
The visitor then would know what to expect when Kight steps behind the wheel of his mud-splattered Ford Bronco and tears around the reservoir site in west Roanoke County.
Kight, 51, works like he drives: On the edge.
"I thrive on stress," he said, sucking on a Salem Light. "The more stressful it is the better I like it."
Kight's frantic efforts have helped keep Spring Hollow on schedule and under budget since work began in November 1991. Construction is nearing completion at the $20 million reservoir, which will meet Roanoke County's drinking water needs into the middle of the next century.
Hundreds of people have played a role in creation of the reservoir, but no one has logged more hours than Kight.
The hard-charging Texan is a construction cowboy, traveling wherever the next job takes him. He has worked in three foreign countries and more than 30 states.
At Spring Hollow, his attention has been focused entirely on the task at hand. His family is in the Dallas area (he is divorced and has a 17-year-old daughter). He sold his pontoon boat because he didn't have time to fish.
"I lived at Smith Mountain Lake when I first got here, but what good did it do me?"
Kight put in 15-hour days, seven days a week last summer when crews were pouring the massive roller-compacted dam that sealed off the hollow.
When the dam work began, Kight worked himself to the verge of collapse and spent a day in the hospital. His doctor ordered him to rest, but he called in every two hours from his hospital bed to monitor progress on the dam.
His title is on-site representative for Hayes, Seay, Mattern & Mattern, the Roanoke-based engineering firm that designed Spring Hollow.
This is his third project for HSMM. He oversaw construction of the Virginia Inland Port at Front Royal and the rehabilitation of a 1.6-million-square-foot government building in Rockville, Md.
At Spring Hollow, Kight has the full authority of HSMM and Roanoke County to question any work he believes is not done according to engineering specifications or accepted standards of quality.
He can be arrogant, belligerent and bull-headed. His ruddy complexion turns red when he is angered, which can happen frequently.
"He can be a real smart aleck, and a lot of people don't like him because he wants the job done right," said Lee Cunningham-Rose, his former secretary.
Kight knows when to threaten, when to cajole and when to negotiate a solution with the contractor, PCL. And he's not afraid to recommend that HSMM engineers change plans to fit physical conditions encountered by PCL.
"He's got the experience and what I call the common sense to understand what is going on to make things work," said Skip Lord, Kight's counterpart for PCL for most of the project.
"He will look at the total picture, not just what was best for his engineering firm, but what was best for the overall project."
One reason Kight got along with PCL workers is that, although he is a college-trained engineer, he could pass for an oil-patch roughneck.
His face is creased from years of construction work. His beard is full. His stomach hangs over a silver belt buckle as big as a saucer.
He has worn out four pairs of cowboy boots stomping around the reservoir site.
"He has a certain rapport with the guys," Cunningham-Rose said. "He can cut up with them, can have a drink with them after work. But when it's business, they know better than to try to put one over on him."
Kight is only one reason the construction of the reservoir has gone so smoothly.
Cliff Craig, the county's utilities director, credited HSMM with coming up with an excellent set of specifications and PCL with having experience constructing roller-compacted concrete dams.
PCL knew enough going in that it knew it could make a profit without having to cut corners, Craig said.
"I've been with contractors that try to take advantage of you," Kight said. "PCL bid the job, they knew what they were doing."
"That has made it easier for everyone," Craig said. "That is not to take anything away from Dale. If he had had a tough contractor, he would have shined all the more."
With construction nearing completion, Kight's work week has shortened to 50 or 60 hours. He has time to concentrate on his beloved Dallas Cowboys and their drive for a second consecutive Super Bowl championship.
At the reservoir, the remaining tasks include putting finishing touches on the 243-foot-high dam, filling the reservoir with an estimated 3.2 billion gallons of water pumped from the Roanoke River, and building a permanent loop road around the 158-acre impoundment.
"It's like a vacation right now," he said.
Still, the sight of Kight's Ford Bronco careening down the makeshift construction roads is enough to strike terror in the heart of a construction worker - or an HSMM executive.
John Bradshaw, the HSMM board chairman and engineer of record on the Spring Hollow project, toured the site in November with members of the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors.
Bradshaw rode in a van with the supervisors, while Kight followed behind in his vehicle.
At one stop, someone suggested the group drive up to the temporary loop road to get a better view of the dam.
"Not me in that truck," Bradshaw said, laughing and pointing to Kight's Bronco. "I'd rather walk."
by CNB