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Army Staff Sgt. Earnest Vance and Sgt. Jeremy Marcy install safety cables inside the Rappahannock River's Embrey Dam Water rushes over the Embrey Dam, seen from the walkway inside the concrete structure. The Army Corps of Engineers will place explosives in the dam to breach it later this month. |
• Embrey Dam special section: Photos, video, stories, history and details of the breach
FROM A DISTANCE, Fredericksburg's Embrey Dam looks almost like a postcard, with brown water tumbling over it to a pool below.
From inside the dam, soldiers with the Army's 544th Engineer Dive Detachment at Fort Eustis have discovered it's a whole different world as they prepare to blast a 100-foot section of it into oblivion 10 days from now.
On the catwalk inside the dam, smooth water morphs into a roaring torrent. The walkway runs the 770-foot length of the structure. An eerie light pierces the veil of water to illuminate its tomblike interior.
Standing on the gritty path in the belly of the dam is like being swallowed by a waterfall. There's a palpable rumbling from the friction of water on concrete, making it seem as if the very structure were alive.
Spray from the tumbling water coats everything. Beneath the dam, flotsam--barrels, trash, logs, a worn basketball--circulates endlessly in the currents.
Raising his voice over the roar of the Rappahannock River, Staff Sgt. Earnest Vance explained Wednesday afternoon's task: "We've been boring holes to get some critical testing done."
In the water below, two divers worked in the 35-degree waters to gauge the composition and thickness of the concrete. They donned special dry suits--insulated, waterproof garments, which prevent hypothermia in icy conditions. Above, others moved hydraulic drilling equipment along the catwalk and strung wire safety lines where handrails have long since worn away.
They face some challenges: The steel-reinforced concrete is harder than expected. One section is 18 inches thick, so the dive team had to try several different types of drills to cut through the concrete.
The soldiers say they're prepared for anything.
"This is standard for us. We work in the cold. [Underwater], it's hard to see. It's not really that bad under there," Vance said. Army divers do many training exercises and have worked all around the world.
On this project, the soldiers need to get the boring down pat so that hundreds of holes can be drilled and explosives placed where needed.
The Army has declined to give details about the blasting for security reasons. But months of planning have gone into the project. The only sign that the soldiers are here is a large beige Army truck parked along the canal path leading to the dam.
Vance has been in town a couple times already; different groups of divers have been working on the complicated training mission, dubbed Operation Noah Shiva.
Shiva is the Hindu god for destruction and rebirth, depicting the demolition of the dam and the restoration of the Rappahannock to its natural state. Noah, of course, is the biblical figure who survived the great flood and the last purge of humankind.
At noon on Feb. 23, more than 600 pounds of plastic explosives wired along the dam will be triggered, probably at the command of U.S. Sen. John Warner, a longtime proponent of bringing down the obsolete structure.
But before that happens, the soldiers must complete their jobs: reconnaissance, calculations, drilling, wiring, safety, checking and double-checking their work.
The task will swing into high gear next week when the dive team makes its final preparations.
A few days before the demolition, access to the dam will be cordoned off. On demolition day, there will be a public viewing area off Fall Hill Avenue.
Divers from Fort Eustis in Hampton Roads specialize in underwater work, including hydrographic surveys, reconnaissance, scuba, salvage, vessel maintenance, harbor clearing and recovery and demolition. The 544th had a six-month deployment in Iraq.
They will be assisted by the 555th Red Horse Air Force Reserve unit out of Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.
Embrey Dam, finished in 1910, was poured in sections and took two years to build. The demolition team will take out about eight of the 14-foot-wide buttresses to make way for migrating fish.
The remaining portion of the dam will be dismantled and removed over the next two years.
To reach RUSTY DENNEN: 540/374-5431 rdennen@freelancestar.com
