Fries sits on the north bank of the New River
Grayson County's own page on the town places Fries "on the north banks of the New River" and names Route 94 as the road it sits on. For concrete, that description turns into two questions before any form board goes in: which way the ground under the pour falls, and whether the spot is inside the river's mapped flood zone.
The fall matters because it decides where water goes. A slab on ground that drops toward the river has to shed water off its surface and away from the house, and how much fall that takes is worked through on our drainage slope answer.
Where that drop puts the forms out of a mixer truck's reach, our own trailer line pump carries the concrete through 2.5 or 3 inch line, and what a climb does to a pump route is covered in our answer on pumping concrete uphill.
On FEMA's map the flood zone is drawn along the river itself, so on a lot that runs down to the water, the low end nearest the river is the part to check first.
FEMA draws the river through town as Zone A
The Town of Fries takes part in the federal flood program as its own community, with FEMA community ID 510215, separate from Grayson County's 510243. FEMA's status report for Virginia, dated July 10, 2026, gives the town a current map dated August 28, 2008 and flags it "No Elevation Determined".
FEMA's national flood hazard layer, checked at four points along the mapped centerline of the New River inside the town limits, from near one end of the town's stretch of river to near the other, returns Zone A at every point. FEMA's 2008 flood study for Grayson County defines Zone A as the 1 percent annual chance floodplain drawn by approximate methods, where "no base flood elevations or depths are shown within this zone."
The floodplain in town is not only water. The Fries Town Council's minutes for July 7, 2026 describe the spot proposed for permanent public restrooms in the Town Park, near the caboose, as "the only area of the park located outside the floodplain."
For a pour, that means one thing: before a slab, a drive or a load of fill goes in on the river side of town, find out whether the spot sits inside Zone A, because that answer decides who has to see the plan before the concrete does.
Why a slab near the river is a floodplain question first
The federal flood rules define development as "any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate" and name "filling, grading, paving" among the examples (44 CFR 59.1).
For a community whose map shows Zone A without flood elevations or a floodway, the same rules tell the community to "require permits for all proposed construction and other developments" inside Zone A (44 CFR 60.3(b)(1)).
FEMA's 2008 study gives the reason in plain words: encroachment "such as structures and fill" reduces flood-carrying capacity, "increases flood heights and velocities", and increases flood hazards beyond the encroachment itself. A raised pad on imported fill, a new slab or a widened drive inside Zone A is exactly the kind of change those rules are written for.
Virginia's building code adds a hook of its own. Section 108.2 lists work that needs no permit application, then says an application "may be required by the building official" for any listed item that sits in a special flood hazard area. Inside Fries, that official is Grayson County's.
What that means for the work: inside Zone A, the paperwork question comes before the concrete question, and it goes to the town and the county before it comes to us.
The town zoning form asks the floodplain questions
Inside the town limits, the floodplain question is asked on the Town of Fries' own zoning permit application. As posted on the town's website and read on September 27, 2026, the form asks "Is the property located in a floodplain?", then "Will the structure be in a floodplain?", then whether the floodplain elevation is determined. When the parcel is in a floodplain, the site sketch has to show it against the new structure, and the office-use block carries a line headed "Floodplain Review".
The form is written around a structure, since it asks for the type and size of the proposed structure. Whether a driveway, a patio or a walk needs the same zoning permit, and who carries out the floodplain review the form lists, are both for the town office to answer.
The state's directory of local floodplain contacts, last modified April 21, 2026, lists the Town of Fries as a participating community without a floodplain administrator's name beside it, and names the county's zoning administrator for Grayson County. We found no floodplain ordinance of the town's own posted online, so ask the town office which desk reviews floodplain work at your address.
The building permit side is Grayson County's: its Building Department issues permits inside the town while the town runs its own zoning, and the phone numbers, forms and fees for both desks sit on our Grayson County permits page.
Main Street is VDOT's road, and the town keeps a list of its own
A new driveway apron or a walk that ties into the street starts with who owns the pavement, and in Fries the owner can change from one street to the next.
The Fries Town Council's minutes for September 3, 2024 record the mayor telling a resident that "Main Street was a VDOT-maintained road and permission would have to come from them." The council's minutes for June 2, 2026 show it working through "the list of town streets" to decide which to resurface, and naming Smith, Hester, Laurel and Vaughan Streets for that round.
So a drive or a walk meeting Main Street is a VDOT question first, and the permit, the residency office and the field review are laid out in our VDOT entrance permits guide. On any other street in town, ask the town office whose street it is before an apron is formed.
The apron is the stretch of a driveway where it meets the road, so it is the piece to settle before the forms go in; the rest of the drive is the subject of our concrete driveways page.
From a front walk to a foundation, the work in Fries
Bowman Griffin pours driveways, patios and walkways, sidewalks and steps, garage and shop slabs, footers and foundations, poured walls, stamped and decorative work and commercial flatwork, and handles tear-out and replacement of old concrete. Fries sits inside the roughly 1 to 1.5 hour drive from Hillsville that the company serves.
For a front walk, a set of steps or the short run that ties a porch to a drive, our walks and steps page covers that work.
A pump comes out when the pour is a foundation, when it runs about 8 cubic yards or more, or when access is tight. It is our own trailer line pump on 2.5 and 3 inch line, and we do the pumping ourselves, with an operator on the pump and a hose hand placing the concrete.
Estimates are free and written, and the free estimates page is where to start one, or call 276-733-3750.