Crews are working to finish bypass pipe installation in the next few weeks. To fuse the pipes together, crews use a machine to heat the ends of the pipe to create a new seal. This process may create an odor that motorists as well as those living and working in the area notice. The smell is similar to burnt plastic and should dissipate once the process is complete.

English Construction, the Lynchburg Water Resources’ (LWR) contractor on the College Lake Dam Removal project, will begin a 24-hour operation on Thursday, February 29, to install a large diameter pipe through College Lake Dam. This operation will last approximately 30 hours and will be completed on Friday, March 1 before the expected rainfall. After the completion of this 30-hour operation, English will continue working to finish installation of the large diameter pipe using a crane over the next couple of weeks.

There will be minimal impacts to the University of Lynchburg campus and residents living in the area. Conditions you should expect will be typical noise from construction vehicles and lights shining to illuminate the project area.

On Wednesday, December 6, 2023, Lynchburg Water Resources, University of Lynchburg, and AECOM held a meeting in Hall Campus Center’s Memorial Ballroom on the University of Lynchburg campus. The meeting provided an update on the construction schedule and answered questions about the project after a brief overview of the upcoming project and what the community should expect. The meeting will be broadcast on LTV and Lynchburg Water Resources’ Facebook page and afterwards will be available by clicking here.

November 28, 2023

English Construction has been awarded the project with Resource Environmental Solutions LLC (RES) as the stream restoration team. The removal of CLD is a long-awaited project that will improve public safety and foster long-term environmental benefits on Blackwater Creek and the James River.

“We are thrilled about this project and look forward to the transformation that will happen in the coming months,” said Dr. Alison Morrison-Shetlar, president of the University of Lynchburg. “The near-failure of the College Lake dam in August 2018 was a stark warning to our campus and our neighbors downstream that we must work together to safely remove this hazard.”

“While we will miss the lake, we are excited about the academic and recreational possibilities of the wetlands ecosystem that will emerge in its place.”

“Our focus throughout design has been to find a balance between public safety and environmental protection on a watershed scale,” said Erin Hawkins, project manager with LWR. “This project has brought together many agency partners and stakeholders to develop a plan that not only removes the impoundment structure, but sought to reconnect the former lake back to the stream corridor running through our community while managing legacy sediment loads.”

“In the years to come, the best outcome of this project is when you will not be able to tell there was a lake there at all.”