Huntington District

     The Huntington District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the General Services Administration (GSA) are continuing to work together to solve the challenge of making the planned improvements to the Federal Building at 502 Eighth Street in Huntington, W.Va.

      Plans call for GSA improvements to be made to the federal building to increase energy efficiency.  At the same time, the agencies are looking at solutions that will bring the Federal Building into compliance with the Department of Defense Unified Facilities Criteria (UFC) for security requirements.

      “The Corps of Engineers and GSA will continue to work together to arrive at a solution that meets federal requirements and provides a safe work environment for Corps of Engineers employees,” said Colonel Robert Peterson, Commander for the Huntington District. 

      Studies are underway to determine how the work can be accomplished in an occupied or partially occupied building.  During construction activities, it is anticipated the majority of Corps employees will remain in the Federal Building while the work is being completed and that most construction will be performed at night to minimize impacts to the work force.

     As details are worked out, further updates will be provided. For more information contact the Public Affairs Office at 304-399-5353.

     The Huntington District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD) will host a groundbreaking ceremony for the first phase of the Dover Dam Safety Assurance Project Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2010, at 10 a.m. The ceremony will be held at the dam site, just off State Route 800 north of Dover.

     U.S. Rep. Zack Space, D-Dover, and Huntington District Commander Robert Peterson will be among the featured speakers for the ceremony, which officially kicks off the first phase of this important project.

     The Dover Dam Safety Assurance Project will include the rehabilitation of the 70-year-old dam, bringing it up to modern safety standards. In September 2010, the Corps awarded the $11.9 million Phase I contract to Brayman Construction Corporation of Saxonburg, Penn. This work includes installation of 36 multi-strand anchors in the spillway section of Dover Dam. The multi-strand anchors range in size from 19-strand to 48-strand anchors and will be installed in holes ranging in size from 9 inches to 17 inches in diameter. The length of the anchors will vary from 103 feet to 153 feet. The anchors will be used to secure sections of the dam to bedrock.

     The overall rehabilitation plan for this project consists of installing anchors in the dam, anchoring the stilling basin, installing training walls, installing a parapet wall on top of the dam, and installing a closure on the left descending abutment, and riverbank protection immediately downstream of the dam.

     The total project cost is estimated at over $60 million, and the MWCD – the non-Federal cost-share sponsor – will provide more than $2 million.

     “This work is vital for the citizens of Tuscarawas County and the entire Muskingum River Watershed,” Peterson said. “The safety of the public is our primary concern, and this work will help to modernize Dover Dam and reduce overall risk.” 

     For more information, please contact the Public Affairs Office at 304-399-5550 or 304-399-5353.

The U.S Army Corps of Engineers Huntington District awarded $90 million in the small business category of its contract awards in Fiscal Year 2010. 

That dollar amount is a record for the Huntington District, exceeding the $69 million it awarded in Fiscal Year 2008. 

$48.5 million of the small business dollars went to the construction firm Shaka, Inc. of Jeannette, Pa., for the Bluestone Dam rehab work to begin this fall. Another $5.8 million went to Heeter Construction, Inc., of Spencer, W.Va., for the channel widening job at Island Creek in Logan. 

Contracts were awarded to numerous small firms locally and in other areas of the country for supplies and services including office supplies, industrial parts and equipment, mowing services, fabrication work, architectural and engineering work and dredging, to name just a few.

The total amount of contract dollars awarded by the district in Fiscal Year 2010 was $151,918,259. Of that amount, the total small business contract dollars were $89,843,461 or 59 percent.

The awards were made to contractors from all over the country, including the local tri-state area. 

For more information about small business contracting with the Corps, contact Debbie Czewski, Huntington District’s Deputy for Small Business at 304-399-5632, or by email at Deborah.w.czewski@usace.army.mil. You can also visit the District’s website at   www.lrh.usace.army.mil/ or call the Public Affairs Office at 304-399-5353.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held Oct. 19, 2010 at 11 a.m. to commemorate the completion of the Grundy, Va., Pedestrian Access Bridge. The work is part of the Grundy Section 202 Flood Damage Reduction project. The bridge will provide pedestrians access to the Grundy redevelopment site from downtown.

            Local, state, and federal officials are planning to attend, including Congressman Rick Boucher, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers District Commander Col. Robert Peterson, James Keen with the Virginia Commonwealth Transportation Board, Grundy Mayor Roger Powers, and Grundy Town Manager Wade McGeorge.

            The Grundy Flood Damage Reduction project was authorized by the Water Resources Development Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-303), which directed the Corps to proceed with measures to help reduce the risk of flooding for the town of Grundy, Va. The scope of the project includes a voluntary floodproofing and floodplain evacuation program, a ringwall/levee protecting a portion of the Grundy central Business District, a 13-acre community redevelopment site, and relocation of public facilities including the town hall, fire station, and teen center.  The project is a partnership between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the town of Grundy, and the Virginia Department of Transportation.

            For more information contact Ken Woodard at 304-399-5322 or the Public Affairs Office at 304-399-5353.

   The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is reminding hunters that, while hunting season is underway, overnight camping within the Wildlife Management Area of Yatesville Lake is prohibited.

   Camping is still permitted at designated campgrounds near Yatesville Lake that are located in areas where hunting is not allowed. For the safety of visitors and the preservation of natural resources at the lake, camping is permitted only at those sites.

   For more information, contact Yatesville Lake Resource Manager Brian Given at 606-686-2412 or the Public Affairs Office at 304-399-5353.

   The fisherman’s access area near Route 35 at the Winfield Locks and Dam on the Kanawha River has reopened to the public now that the installation of new handrails has been completed.

   The area was closed Sept. 27, 2010, while the contractor, C&L Construction, removed the old handrails and installed new ones.

   Only the fishing access area on the Winfield side of river was closed. The fishing area on the Eleanor side of river remained open during the construction period.

    For more information contact the Public Affairs Office at 304-399-5353.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will host the public premiere of a documentary about the discovery of artifacts linked to the earliest known settlers along the Kanawha River Oct. 14 at 6:30 p.m. at the Culture Center Theatre in Charleston, W.Va.

The video, “Secrets of the Valley Prehistory of the Kanawha,” will be presented at no charge to visitors. The 30-minute film was produced by Paradise Film Institute at West Virginia State University and the Corps of Engineers.

Approximately 450,000 historic artifacts were recovered during the archeological excavations at the Marmet Lock replacement project in Belle, W.Va. The findings of that

Research uncovered more than 10,000 years of pre-European occupation in West Virginia. The documentary combines the science of archaeology and the oral traditions of Native Americans for a rare look back in time.

            Narrated by Morgan Spurlock, the video introduces us to the hunting-gathering clans of the Paleo-Indians, to the Archaic people, the Woodland Mound Builders and the Late Prehistoric Farmers.

            Presented by the award-winning team that produced “Red Salt and Reynolds” and “Ghosts of Green Bottom,” “Secrets” is the final installment in the historic trilogy.   

            For more information, contact archeologist Aaron Smith at 304-399-5720 or the Public Affairs Office at 304-399-5353.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has awarded a $5.8 million contract to local small business contractor Heeter Construction, Inc., of Spencer, W.Va., for the construction of a local flood reduction project at Island Creek in Logan, W.Va.

This contract will provide funds to widen the streambed of Island Creek. When finished, the streambed will be opened up to a width of 80 feet for a distance of 3,600 feet upstream from its confluence with the Guyandotte River.

The project should help reduce flooding in the Island Creek basin, which has been hit with several major floods in the last few years.

“This work is vital for the citizens of Island Creek and the region,” said Col. Robert Peterson, District Commander, “and will help to protect life and property by reducing the risk of flooding.”

Construction is expected to begin November 2010 and will take about four years to complete.

Logan County Commission is the non-federal sponsor of the project with the WV Conservation Agency and the Guyan District, providing 25% of the total construction cost.

The construction was authorized by the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 (P.L. 99-662), Section 401

For more information, contact Project Manager Sherry Adams at 304-399-5844 or the Public Affairs Office at 304-399-5353.