The Army Corp of Engineers will be closing the Right Bank Tailwater Recreation Area at Cordell Hull Dam to stabilize the rock bluff in the area.
Corps of Engineers Project Manager Stephen Logan said the project is designed to reduce the falling debris, such as rocks and tree branches. Logan said that the project was necessary to ensure public safety.
“With weather events, whether it’s rain or wind, debris consistently falls down this, falls off this bluff,” Logan said. “And again poses a hazard to the public and our employees.”
Logan said the Corps of Engineers had completed phase one of the project a few years back. Logan said the goal is to further expand the project.
“So Crodell Hull, the bluff is massive,” Logan said. “We are hoping to take care of all of the issues that we have had over the last few years and negate anything falling off the bluff. If we can’t capture everything that’s in this phase, then there potentially may be a phase three. But our goal is to safely take care of everything that we can with this phase.”
The recreation area will be closed starting in mid-October. Logan said the area from the parking lot to the powerhouse will be closed during the project. Logan said he expects the project to take a year to complete.
“So we will start with vegetation removal, and then after we safely remove the vegetation from the rock bluff, we will use mechanical methods to scale the rock bluff to remove any eroded rock, any smoldering rock that may have been caught on a ledge, so on and so forth,” Logan said.
Logan said the restroom that is closest to the dam, the parking area that overlooks the dam, and land-based tailwater fishing and recreation access will see closures during the project.