By Erin Smith
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ project to fill a scour hole that formed beneath the dam at William O. Huske Lock and Dam No. 2 during Hurricane Matthew is facing delays, due to rain and high water in the Cape Fear River this summer.
Elizabethtown Parks and Recreation Director, Rod Fritz, said “The Corps is going to take longer than their October deadline.”
He said the Corps of Engineers is scheduled to meet with the general contractor on the project this week. Fritz said, once that meeting is completed, a new deadline for completion should be set.
“When the river is high, you can’t put rock in the river. We’ve had so much rain this summer, they lost many work days (due to the rain),” said Fritz.
He said several times this summer, the Cape Fear River was high due to rain which prevented crews from working.
Fritz anticipates it will be some time in the Spring of 2019 before the Corps of Engineers completes the project, and returns the property to the control of the town. He said the primitive campground the town has planned to install at the site, has now been moved to the 2019 budget year.
The William O. Huske Lock and Dam No. 2 have been closed to the public since November 2017 for repair work to take place on the dam. The scour hole was located just downstream of the dam during an assessment following Hurricane Matthew.
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