Rock Quarry Among Winston-Salem Bond Projects Moving Forward

Several voter approved bond projects in Winston-Salem are moving full speed ahead. On Monday, city council held a special meeting to discuss progress in 47 areas. They include renovating police and fire stations, new sidewalks and updating parks and recreational facilities.

But some concerns were raised during the meeting about the schedule for the projects.  Council member Dee Dee Adams says the city dropped the ball in 2000 getting similar projects done. But a group called the Citizen's Bond Oversight Committee has been since created to address that concern. 

“It took 13 years from the beginning of those bonds for the projects to be completed. Right now, our goal is to get our projects completed at least within five years,” says Adams.

The more than $139-million bond package was approved by voters in November.

One of the projects highlighted at the meeting was a hidden rock quarry in Winston-Salem. The city wants to turn the former Vulcan Material quarry into a major tourist attraction. Preliminary designs for the park were discussed.

Mark Lively with the Citizen's Bond Oversight Committee says eventually it will be turned into a park that will include picnic areas, campsites and a pier.

“It's a beautiful deep blue lake and [it's] looking at the city, so it will be an iconic place to take pictures,” says Lively. “It's an observation platform and not a bridge, so it only will go out part way over the water, but the site will be just an interesting place to come see this geological feature that's also man-made.”

Environmentalists say over time, the quarry lake has developed into its own ecosystem. It includes several different types of fish–even fresh water jellyfish.

Currently, the quarry is closed to the public for safety reasons. City leaders say construction on the park will be done in phases. They estimate it could take 10 to 20 years to fully develop the project.

*Follow Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news.