A Central Texas lake will temporarily close one of its parks and a portion of a campground next month.
The US Army Corps of Engineers will be closing Lofer's Bend Day Use park and a few sites at Lofers Bend West Campground in a few weeks for the transfer and replacement of rip rap along the dam.
"This is the original riprap from the construction of the dam, and it does play a major role in protecting the dam," Abraham Phillips, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Lake Manager, said.
Riprap is the rocks that line the dam in order to protect the integrity of the structure.
"With the 2015 and 2016 flooding at those high elevations, which that's not the only flood events on the dam, but it was identified that the riprap is degraded to a point that it needs to be replaced," Phillips added.
But, replacing the rip rap means closing Lofer's Bend Day-Use Park and some of the campsites on the west campground that people like the Conways use once a week.
"We were here when it flooded last year, and it was very devastating... and so I can kinda understand why they would want to do that, but it is heartbreaking to us because this is where we like to come to boat and swim," Skip and Deborah Conway, frequent visitors of Lofers Bend Park, said.
Which is why the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers wants you to know...
"We really took a factor in on customer service and the impacts there. But, there's plenty of other recreational opportunities during that time as well once this park does close to go over to utilize some of the other parks. If you're not familiar with them, go try out some of the other parks around Lake Whitney... and you might find one that you like better," Phillips said.
"I think we can find other ways to get into the lake. We understand progress," the Conways added.
If you're someone who likes to use the boat ramp here at Lofers Bend Day-Use park like the Conways, don't worry. You can still launch your boat from both Lofers Bend Campgrounds... even though the west campground will have four or five sites closed. The east campground, however, will stay open.
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