So what's with all the dirt?

Driving by the lower campus, many of you have noticed the large mound of dirt at the construction site. So, what’s with all the dirt? Well, we’re glad you asked. Quite a bit of dirt must be removed from the site as the hill where the old Head’s House once stood needs to be lowered about 8 - 10 feet in preparation for the new building. The dirt will not be needed as fill in any other area of the construction site, so it needs to go somewhere. The University of Virginia has agreed to allow us to move the dirt from the construction site to their property across the road. Moving dirt sounds easy, but it’s not that simple. If you fill dirt on top of the grass and vegetation, it will start to decompose thereby leaving a void. To avoid the void, you must first remove the top layer of the soil (including grass and vegetation) and pile it to the side. That is the great mound you see now. Once all the dirt has been moved, you replace the top layer including vegetation on top to reseed and replant the area.