Legislators Approve $8.4M To Rebuild Dam At Bastrop State Park

The Texas Legislature approved $8.4 million in state funding to rebuild a dam and roads at Bastrop State Park that were destroyed in a flood in May 2015.

The funding is part of the $48.5 million legislators approved to repair seven state parks heavily damaged by floods and fires since 2011.

Construction on the new dam will restore a lake that was once a popular feature at Bastrop State Park.

The lake could be ready for visitors as early as next year as engineering work on the dam has already begun, said the park superintendent, Jamie Creacy. 

The dam should be completed by 2020, he added. An 8-mile running trail at the park that was closed after the wildfire in 2011 is expected to reopen by the end of this summer, he said.

Other state parks that received a portion of the total $48.5 million in funding for weather-related repairs include Cedar Hill, Ray Roberts, Lake Somerville, Stephen F. Austin, Lake Whitney and Mother Neff state parks.

This story originally published by Strategic Partnerships, Inc.