PIKE COUNTY, Ohio – Crews are working to finish construction of a dedicated road at EM’s Portsmouth Site that will be used to haul demolition material to the new On-Site Waste Disposal Facility (OSWDF).

The road will stretch approximately 2.75 miles and will provide a dedicated route to the OSWDF for trucks carrying debris and soils generated from demolition of the former gaseous diffusion plant and excavation of legacy landfills and groundwater plumes.

“Structural demolition will begin on the first of three massive uranium-enrichment process buildings here in late spring, generating debris,” said Jeff Bettinger, Portsmouth site lead for the Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office. “This haul road will provide a safe and reliable transportation route from the demolition zone to the OSWDF.”

DOE has developed a comprehensive plan, approved by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, that will provide safety as the waste is being transported.

“With the disposal cell opening in the near future, the existence of a dedicated haul road will become increasingly important to the project,” said Craig Cecala, OSWDF operations manager with Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth, the site’s prime cleanup contractor. “The haul road is designed to expedite delivery of accepted waste to the cell, where workers will be able to efficiently survey loads before and after transport.”