SAVANNAH, Ga. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Savannah District, was informed by the Federal Highway Administration that the requested allocation of Emergency Relief for Federally Owned Roads (ERFO) has been approved and distribution of funds will be provided to support critical transportation infrastructure repairs and debris removal efforts at J. Strom Thurmond Lake for damage caused by Hurricane Helene.
Additional details will be provided once the funding is received, the contracts are awarded, and project timelines are finalized. The ERFO funds allow the District to address storm-related damage to transportation assets like roads, parking lots, trails, the removal of vegetative debris and hazardous trees and stumps.
However, the ERFO funding does not allow for the reduction and permanent disposal of debris or the repair of recreation facilities such as restrooms, campsites, and courtesy docks. Therefore, the District will continue to pursue emergency supplemental funding from USACE for those remaining repairs.
Since the hurricane hit in September 2024, the Thurmond Project Office used the District’s limited fiscal year 2025 operations and maintenance (O&M) funds to open most of its boat ramps and access points, as well as three day use areas; Clarks Hill Park and Below Dam in South Carolina, and West Dam in Georgia. Currently, 41 of 51 recreation areas are now open or partially open to the public. Visit list of areas open to the public to learn more.
“A debris removal contract for Corps-operated parks is anticipated to be awarded by early August 2025,” said Tammy Cleveland, J. Strom Thurmond Dam and Lake Operations Project manager. “Once debris is removed from closed campgrounds and day use areas, we still have a long road ahead of us to repair infrastructure and make the recreation areas safe to reopen to the public.”
The Savannah District will continue efforts to reopen parks using its limited, available O&M funds. As of May 14, 2025, the District has executed $566K in O&M funds toward storm recovery efforts.
Separately, timber salvage operations are wrapping up at Petersburg Campground, Lake Springs Day Use Area, and Parksville Day Use Area.
The O&M service contractor has removed 298 dump truck loads, totaling 2,674 cubic yards of debris from West Dam Day Use Area, while the timber salvage contractor removed 13,250 cubic yards of merchantable timber from Ridge Road and Petersburg. Visit Thurmond Hurricane Helene Recovery to learn find more details about the progress so far.
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