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June 2016 www.coalage.com 57 operating ideas continued Ball noted that the company did form other partnerships along the way. Third-party contractors were of help over those years, such as Torque Enterprises, which it brought in to aid in mitigation and some of the project's smaller details. All told, the reclamation has includ- ed restoration of more than 4,500 feet of stream and extensive planting of hybrid American Chestnut trees. The reforesta- tion at Hawks Nest has attracted elk, re- sulting in elk viewing tours beginning this year at Breaks Interstate Park. Alpha is in the final bond release phase for the job, and expects everything to be complete sometime next year — with the exception of the portion it will keep bond on for the upcoming Route 460/CFX in- terchange project. That segment, which is on the western end of the permit, will ultimately tie into the Phase II 460 project already under way between V-DOT and Bizzack Construction, extending from the Breaks Interstate Park to Alpha's Hawks Nest permit. Officials expect 460 to be en- tirely complete by 2018. Ball said there were no significant challenges or obstacles to the project, and that Hawks Nest is similar to other types of reclamation efforts it has under- taken in the past. One of those was Lov- ers Gap 4, where Alpha again worked with the IDA to develop more than 500 acres for their industrial/residential site adja- cent to Hawks Nest. "We also enlarged the county's park (Poplar Gap) to the size it is today," he said. "We built more than six miles of access roads to V-DOT's standard that connects this site to Route 83, Route 744, Route 604 and the future I-121, the Coal- fields Expressway." One primary benefit, particularly re- garding this most recent work, was the good cooperation and support the produc- er received from both involved regulatory agencies and the surrounding community. He also noted there was no funding source for the mine, other than the con- tract with V-DOT to build the two miles of the CFX and the contract with IDA. Ac- cording to V-DOT data, Alpha saved the state of Virginia approximately 90%, or $90 million, on that portion of roadway ($2 bil- lion is the expected savings for the 26 miles of CFX on Alpha's side). "Whether it's returning the land to the original contour or developing it for bene- ficial public use, we have had great success in providing long-term benefits to the re- gion," said Blake Hall, vice president of op- erations. "Environmental stewardship is a priority within any mine plan, and we pride ourselves on demonstrating how reclaimed land can bring opportunities to the region after the mining has been completed." "[We] have a love for the land, and...it shows through in the work that's done, the product that we create," added Alpha Vice President of Environmental Affairs John Paul Jones. The project is clearly an important one for the region as well. "[It represents] major growth in Bu- chanan County for the next 40 to 50 years, including hotels and shopping, manufac- turing and business…in Southern Gap," IDA Director Craig Horn said. Hawks Nest stored overburden in a terraced valley-fill during active operations. The terraced valley-fill manages run off and the vegetation on it controls erosion.