Lance Martin Herald Senior Staff Writer

TODD WETHERINGTON | DAILY HERALD Ken Gupton, left, an employee of Roanoke Rapids Power Station, and Dominion Power employee Felix Mattei tighten bolts on a section of the newly restored Roanoke Canal Trail overlook Thursday. Advertisement

WELDON - About 40 Dominion Power employees took the day off Thursday to work as volunteers.

Their project was one that Bob Foster, manager of Dominion operations in Roanoke Rapids, said is close to the company's heart. It's one, the company can trace its own history through - the Roanoke River Canal Trail.

Thursday, instead of kicking back on their day off, the volunteers busied themselves building a new overlook platform at the aqueduct in Weldon.

Each year, the company holds a volunteer day in which employees work on various community projects.

Foster said this project was a natural given the canal used for commerce eventually led to the start of power generation.

Harold Jacobson, director of the Roanoke Canal Museum, said the old overlook, built in the late 1980s, wasn't as accessible and safe due to erosion and several severe storms.

With the help of the Dominion employees, a new overlook was built that is up to code and provides easy access for everyone, including people who are wheelchair bound, Jacobson said.

The overlook is extremely popular, Jacobson said, and a new one was badly needed. The overlook will have benches and text panels will be put up explaining the history of the canal and the aqueduct.

Roanoke Rapids Parks and Recreation Director Chris Wicker said the new overlook access trail has less than an 8 percent grade, which makes it easy for just about everyone to get there. “It's a much better aesthetic view.”

Wicker said it would have probably cost the city between $20,000 to $25,000 to contract the project out. “We've got 40 volunteers working an eight-hour day. The value of that is worth more than $15 to $25 an hour (each).”