Berm Construction Underway at BRTC

Berm Construction on the Pocahontas Campus

POCAHONTAS, AR Sept. 1— Construction of a system of earthen berms, masonry walls, and sump and discharge pipes around the perimeter of Black River Technical College’s main campus at Pocahontas is underway. The system is being constructed to prevent any future destruction of the campus facilities by flood waters.

In January, BRTC received a $1,235,737.76 grant to partially fund the project. The grant funds were made available through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) through the Arkansas Division of Emergency Management.

Work on the project began in June, and the project is expected to be complete by November 25^th. Rhonda Stone, BRTC’s Vice President of Finance, expressed that she is happy with the progress thus far and is looking forward to seeing the project completed. She states, “Currently, the progress on the berm is going as scheduled.  The progress may seem slow, but there are many moving parts to coordinate, between building the earthen berm and retaining walls to the moving of utilities and burying drainage pipe.  It takes coordination between many different subcontractors.  We are pleased with the quality of the construction.”

For more information about BRTC, visit https://blackrivertech.org/.