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"BY TOM JOYCE, MOUNT AIRY NEWSGiven this area\u2019s geological heritage, many construction projects encounter problems with rock, but in an ironic twist the completion of work to realign a deadly curve on Lowgap Mountain has been delayed by the presence of no rock.The expectation of solid natural material along a hillside on N.C. 89 had been figured into the engineering equation for a state Department of Transportation project to realign the infamous Snowbird Curve. The motivation for the work was numerous deadly accidents over the years fueled by the narrowness and sight limitations posed by the curve, especially for large trucks.But that expectation was undermined by a surprise at one point as crews labored to reconfigure the quarter-mile curve. \u201CWe didn\u2019t hit rock,\u201D explained Brandon Whitaker, a DOT engineer based in Elkin. \u201CThe original project was designed to hit rock in that cut.\u201DCrews kept digging deeper into the hillside hoping to encounter it, which essentially would have lent stability to the embankment along the realigned curve. Loose soil dominated instead and led to a collapse, throwing a kink into what had been a smooth project to that point.\u201CWe had the road ready to pave, and the slope moved the week before we were supposed to start our paving,\u201D the DOT engineer said.This prompted the highway agency to rethink its strategy, and put work on hold in the meantime. \u201CWe hope to start back in the spring,\u201D Whitaker said earlier this week.A Plan B subsequently was devised, calling for the alignment of N.C. 89 to be altered from the original design in order to prevent slides directly onto the roadway. This alternative also is to include the installation of a type of \u201Clow-energy\u201D fence, which will catch any debris that does tumble down, Whitaker said.\u201CWe didn\u2019t feel good about the (initial) design going forward for the future, so we decided to try that system.\u201DDiscussions are now under way with a contractor to make those tweaks. \u201CWe\u2019re still negotiating \u2014 I don\u2019t have good prices,\u201D Whitaker said of what the extra work might cost.But he said it should be only slightly above the original $1.6 million price tag for the curve-realignment project. \u201CWe\u2019re looking at about 1 to 2 percent.\u201DThe change also does not present a problem from a scheduling standpoint since the work had progressed rapidly until the design setback, Whitaker said. \u201CI don\u2019t expect a significant delay,\u201D added the engineer, who says the original timeline for the project might still be met \u201Cbecause this was so far ahead of schedule.\u201DWhen the original construction contract was awarded by the DOT in 2012, a completion date of Nov. 28, 2014 was announced for the project.Whitaker commented this week on the rare occurrence of not hitting rock at the site targeted for the additional work, whenever it exists all around. \u201CIf you go a mile up the road, it\u2019s solid rock,\u201D he said.Something that local construction crews stumble onto all the time simply didn\u2019t materialize in this case, Whitaker said."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.wxii12.com/article/collapse-stops-highway-89-construction-in-surry-county/2053751>