WAYNE COUNTY, Mo. -- Day use areas, portions of a bike trail extension and a new overlook will open in September at Old Greenville Recreation Area, as $1 million in upgrades and storm repairs continue.
These areas are expected to be ready in time for the annual Old Greenville Days to be held Sept. 16-17.
The historic site was hit in the spring by a flood, followed Memorial Day weekend by a windstorm that brought down more than 100 trees.
The extensive damage combined with planned improvements to electrical, water, sewer and road systems have closed all of the popular area for the summer.
The campsites are likely to remain closed until the 2018 recreation season, according to park ranger Doug Nichols.
"It was a tough decision to make, because we know the community of Greenville relies heavily on this," said Nichols. "We're not taking this lightly. We know how many people love this campground, but this will be best in the long run."
The Wappapello project had planned to spend about $500,000 on a project to add water and sewer at all 111 campsites and upgrade the electric at all of the pads from 30 amps to 50 amps, which is used by newer RVs. None of the sites currently have sewer and only a handful have water.
The projects would have occurred in stages to limit disruption to visitors, Nichols said, but the extensive damage left after severe weather forced the corps to re-evaluate that plan, as well as look for additional money.
Floodwaters had only just receded from picnic shelter 10, near the Memory Lane gazebo, by the end of May.
Mud and debris were still left from being nearly a month underwater when straight line winds brought down trees topping a 100 feet in height and more than a century old.
Last week, contractors were still in the process of removing these logs and cutting damaged limbs out of treetops.
An uprooted cottonwood tree with a width more than waist high on Nichols was one of many trees still down throughout the original 25 campsites. A heavy metal picnic table folded nearly in half by a fallen tree still sat nearby.
"If there had been anybody here, it's possible we would have had some fatalities," Nichols explained, adding, "We're going to plant 100 new trees in the fall."
The campsite pads and roads also will be widened under the current project to meet new standards, more handicap accessible pads will be added, and all of the roads will get an asphalt overlay.
The recreation area was built in the late 1980s and this is the first major upgrade, Nichols said.
It comes at the same time the corps is completing a proposed trail spur that brings the campground bike trail across Highway FF and eventually to the Ozark Trail. Portions of the trail will be open by mid-September, but one section near Highway 67 will remain closed until safety fencing is installed, Nichols said.
The new overlook sits more than 100 feet above Wappapello Lake and offers views of Logan Mountain to the west and Johnson Tract to the east.
In other parts of the Wappapello Lake project, a fishing trail will be paved between People's Creek lower and upper areas, said project manager Cindy Jackson.
A bike trail also will be completed between People's Creek upper and Sundowner Marina, above the lake's ordinary high water mark.
This is expected in early 2018, along with a greenhouse near the fish cleaning station. It will be used for events, including the annual Earth Day activities.
The corps is also adding more wetland areas, to be strategically placed in the bends of rivers, Jackson said.
A new water control gauge will be installed at Greenville to give the public water level information in that area, and fire alarm upgrades will be done at the project office, along with painting and other improvements to the gatehouse, Jackson said.
Improvements to visitor center exhibits are also planned for after the first of the year.