Deluge Stalls Dam Yet Again
By Tina Ray, The Fayetteville Observer, N.C.
Jul. 12–HOPE MILLS — Another rainstorm means more work for the crews building a new dam on Hope Mills Lake.
It’s another hurdle for the project that has already taken more than five years. The dam was breached and the lake lost in 2003.
The deluge Thursday night ate away at the banks, forcing workers to spend hours reinforcing the area around the new spillway.
Officials said they had anticipated pouring the last concrete for the dam Friday. Instead, workers were bringing in truckloads of rock to fill in the hole created by the heavy rain.
About 30 or 40 truckloads of rock are needed, said Brian Buttry, general superintendent for Crowder Construction, the company overseeing the building of the project.
Crews removed an oak tree that fell when the bank was eaten away beneath it and were dumping rock in a 15-foot hole Wednesday afternoon.
“We’re going to do slope stabilization, that is protecting the slopes from any more rain ushering in,” Buttry said.
He expected the work to continue into today.
The dam was wiped out five years ago by heavy rain. The cost of rebuilding is expected to reach almost $10 million and has stretched out longer than town officials and residents anticipated.
The recent weather hasn’t helped.
According to the Raleigh office of the National Weather Service, as much as two inches fell in Hope Mills on Thursday, on top of the 3 inches that fell Tuesday night.
The rains Tuesday caused a temporary diversion dam at Hope Mills Lake to wash away for the second time in a month.
The erosion of the banks on Thursday raised concerns about underground phone lines in the area. An independent contractor for a utility locating company was called to mark phone lines within the area around the lakebed Friday morning.
Before this week, officials expected the lake to be restored by August. Officials have said that this week’s rains will delay the project into September.
A celebration is planned for its restoration to coincide with Ole Mill Days in late October.
Staff writer Tina Ray can be reached at rayt@fayobserver.com or 426-7787.
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