ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Tuesday, June 18, 1996                 TAG: 9606180069
SECTION: VIRGINIA                 PAGE: C-4  EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
DATELINE: WISE

U.S. 23 PROJECT IN WISE WINS KUDOS

The $31 million U.S. 23 Powell Valley highway project in Wise County has won the National Quality Initiative Achievement Award.

"The ability to build a four-lane divided roadway and hang it on the side of Stone Mountain, on top of approximately 70 to 80 feet of weathered shale, and the scenic value of Powell Valley made this project a viable candidate for the award," said Steve Mullins, Bristol District materials engineer for the Virginia Department of Transportation.

The 2.6-mile project included installing 72,000 feet of underground drains, excavating thousands of tons of shale, and filling the caves that created the unstable geologic conditions that frustrated two previous attempts to build a highway across the mountain.

Project designers were Wiley & Wilson of Lynchburg and TAMS Consultants of New York, N.Y. Nello L. Teer Co. of Durham, N.C., was the contractor, and Thompson & Litton of Wise inspected the project.

- Staff report

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