Warner, Kaine, Griffith Announce Additional $42 Million In Army Corps Funding For Dickenson County Flood Control

WASHINGTON – Today U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) and U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA-9) announced that Dickenson County will receive an additional $42 million in funding from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to allow for the environmental work, design and construction of a new elementary school. Today’s announcement is in addition to $17 million in funding announced Wednesday to offset construction costs for the new Ridgeview High School, which opened last year. The schools will also serve as an emergency shelter for Dickenson County communities during extreme weather conditions.

The funding comes from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers fund for ongoing infrastructure projects that was signed into law in the Fiscal Year 2016 omnibus, and is part of the three-state Army Corps flood control project on the Levisa and Tug Forks and Upper Cumberland River.

“We’re very pleased that this additional funding will allow for construction of a new elementary school,” said Warner, Kaine and Griffith. “This project will significantly reduce flood risks, provide modern educational facilities for 1,300 students, and support construction jobs in the region.”

Warner, Kaine and Griffith wrote to the leadership of the Army Corps in January 2016 to advocate for funding of this project.

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