[ad_1]
HAMLIN TOWNSHIP, MI – One of Michigan’s most popular state parks for camping has shared the first photo from its $3.2 million construction project.
Most of Ludington State Park is closed due to the work that began just after Labor Day. It’s scheduled to reopen – with repaved roads and expanded parking lots – on July 1.
RELATED: Behind-the-scenes tours of iconic Lake Michigan lighthouse scheduled for October
Park officials shared the first photo of the work on Thursday: A drone shot by Hallak Contracting, of Hart. The photo shows the main Lake Michigan beach and its adjacent parking area where the old asphalt has already been removed.
The park closed on Sept. 3.
After that, park staff did prep work for about a week and a half, including removing trees, signs, posts and fences that would be in the contractor’s way, park supervisor Jim Gallie said. Contractors came in about a week ago.
RELATED: Where to go for camping, beaches, hiking during Ludington State Park closure
So far, they are removing asphalt and gravel in the Lake Michigan and Hamlin Lake parking areas, he said.
Most of the planned work involves paving and reworking traffic flow, both pedestrian and vehicular. The park will gain about 100 new parking spaces.
RELATED: What Ludington State Park will look like after $3M in upgrades
Here’s what’s coming:
- Repaving of the park’s main road
- Repaving of the Hamlin Lake day-use area parking lot
- Paving the gravel lots near the Big Sable River overlook (south of the park road, across from the Hamlin Lake parking lot)
- Paving the gravel pull-off parking spaces along the park road
- Enhancing traffic and pedestrian flow at the park entrance and between the campgrounds and Lake Michigan beach
- Expanding the Lake Michigan beach parking lot
- Expanding the warming shelter parking lot (just north of the entry booth)
The closure includes all campgrounds and campsites, all northern trails, Big Sable Point Lighthouse, the main Lake Michigan beach area and the Hamlin day-use areas, including the beach, Hamlin Dam, the boat launch and picnic areas along the Big Sable River. Almost everything north of the entry booth is closed while areas south of the booth are open.
Barricades are located just south of the Big Sable River bridge; the public is not allowed north of these barricades.
Find more details on what’s open here.
RELATED: What’s still open at popular Up North state park during construction? We have a list
The project is part of $250 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan, or ARPA, that was made available to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources in 2022 to help address a long list of needs at state parks. These federal COVID-19 relief funds are part of a $4.8 billion infrastructure package outlined in Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Building Michigan Together Plan.
The 4,800-acre park was previously slated for $4.26 million in ARPA-funded upgrades, which included rebuilding Skyline Trail, a popular boardwalk atop a dune ridge. About $1.06 million of the funding has been reallocated to projects at other state parks that came in over budget. As a result, the Skyline Trail project has been deferred.
RELATED: Rebuild of popular boardwalk trail at Ludington State Park delayed due to lack of funding
Situated between Lake Michigan and Hamlin Lake, Ludington State Park known for its seven miles of sandy Lake Michigan beachfront, an iconic lighthouse and a one-mile stretch of Big Sable River that’s popular for fishing, paddling and tubing. The park also features 21 miles of marked trails through wetlands, marshes, dunes and forests, plus two water trails. Hamlin Lake is popular for recreation, including boating, hiking, fishing, paddling and swimming.
The park, 8800 M-116 north of Ludington, is especially in demand for camping. It has three modern campgrounds with 352 campsites.
[ad_2]
Source link
