Dominion Virginia Power Leads Effort To Improve Popular Boat Ramp On The North Fork Of The Shenandoah River

-- Warren County, Virginia Game and Inland Fisheries, others partner with Dominion

-- Project protects environment, makes river more accessible, including for handicapped

-- Total value of volunteer project is $100,000

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Apr 11, 2013, 11:00 ET

FRONT ROYAL, Va., April 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Boaters, canoeists and kayakers are in for a treat the next time they launch at the Riverton public boat landing on the North Fork of the Shenandoah River near this northwestern Virginia town. Dominion Virginia Power teamed with others to rebuild the landing's ramp, improve general access and parking, spruce up the river's overlook park and make it more accessible to the handicapped.

Dominion, which is building the Warren County Power Station two miles down the road from the landing, hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony today to celebrate the completion of the $100,000 revitalization project.

Initiated by Dominion, the project was conceived in partnership with Warren County, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, Shenandoah Riverkeeper and Zachry Industrial, the lead construction company for the power station.

A consortium of 16 companies, businesses and government entities came together to accomplish the task. This team extended the boat ramp further into the river and replaced the worn gravel ramp with a 9-inch thick concrete ramp. The team also built stairs for easier and safer access from the parking lot, upgraded the nearby picnic area, added two picnic tables, replaced the outdated information kiosk, added a garbage receptacle and built a location for a portable restroom.

Volunteers completed the work today by planting native plants, flowers and shrubs to beautify the area.

"This has been a team effort for the community," said Colin Kelly, manager-Generation Site Construction for Dominion. "Dominion and our Warren County Power Station team are proud to have been a part of this successful collaborative effort. The idea was to make the Riverton Landing a model for other landings along the Shenandoah River. That goal has been met and surpassed."

Over a five-month construction period, Zachry and Dominion employees provided more than 1,000 volunteer hours to complete the work. The total value of the work, including donations, materials, services and volunteer hours is well more than $100,000.

Extensive technical resources, labor, materials, equipment and supplies were donated by Warren County Energy Partners, a joint venture consisting of Zachry Industrial and Burns & McDonnell.

"We're honored to participate and contribute to the enhancement of a lasting improvement within the community", said Bruce Beall, project manager for Zachry Industrial, "Our community investment strategy has always focused on lending our distinctive time, skills and resources towards upgrading the infrastructure of the communities we live in and this project afforded a special opportunity to accomplish this."

Money for the ramp was provided through a $25,000 grant from the Dominion Foundation and from Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas, Inc. (MPSA) the firm that built the gas and steam turbine-generators for the power station. Other companies that contributed money were: Alstom, Burns & McDonnell, DN Tank, NiSource, Polytech Services, Rappahannock Electric Cooperative, TAS, and SPX.

Kevin Beddard, MPSA's general manager of Projects, Construction and Commissioning, said, "We would like to thank Dominion for spearheading the successful revitalization of the Riverton boat landing. MPSA is honored to be part of this community effort to provide residents and visitors of Warren County with improved access to the Shenandoah River."

In addition to the money and volunteer labor, other partners provided materials or services. Essroc Ready Mix and its parent company Essroc, provided more than $25,000 worth of rock and concrete. Other contributors were COMCAST and Pennoni Engineering.

One of the goals of the project was to ensure that it had a positive impact on the environment. To that end, a lot of work was done to reduce the amount of runoff and silt flowing from the parking lot into the river.

"The two forks of the Shenandoah River offer some of the most beautiful paddling and boating in the state," said Jeff Kelble of Shenandoah Riverkeeper. "We have lots of access points to the river but many locations are in need of a facelift and work to reduce their runoff and impact to the river. I'm thankful that Dominion and Zachry took the lead on this project, which now gives us a model design ensuring the most benefit to the public, to the river and to future projects."

Dominion Virginia Power is a subsidiary of Dominion (NYSE: D), one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 27,500 megawatts of generation. Dominion operates one of the nation's largest natural gas storage systems and serves retail energy customers in 15 states. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's website at www.dom.com.

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SOURCE Dominion Virginia Power