The US Army Corps of Engineers is ready to reopen the fishing area below the Winfield Lock and Dam.
"There’s a little bit of dressing up of the area we realize needs to be done,” said Peggy Noel with the Corps. "But we recognize the importance of getting this area open to the public for fishing. So we’re going to open it up Wednesday morning about 8:00."
The project included stabilizing the bank on the powerhouse side of the dam. Construction crews repaired slippage and erosion in the bank and added a handicapped accessible walkway along the rocky shoreline. The work also included paving one parking lot and building a second one in the area.
"We had some bad weather. It’s been a very rainy spring,” said Noel of the project that ran past it’s projected target date about three months. "That caused the water levels on the river to be a little elevated and we couldn’t do the work the way we wanted to."
The project culminates a cooperative effort between the Corps, Appalachian Power, and the West Virginia DNR who have an interest in the property.