NEWS RELEASES
Michigan State Park Needs Half Million For Emergency Repairs
Editor's Note: This news item was retrieved and first published through MLive's website.
ONTONAGON, MI - MLive.com reports that County Road 107, the main access to Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, Michigan’s largest state park, is receiving emergency repair costing $550,000 due to erosion caused by high water levels in Lake Superior and recent storm damage. The road is one of the main access roads into the huge 60,000-acre park in the western Upper Peninsula, and also connects main attractions like Lake of the Clouds and the park’s visitor center in nearby Silver City. “Without this main access way, should a road washout or undermining occur, visitors to the park’s east end may be required to take an 80-mile detour, via west end entry, or be prevented altogether from reaching numerous points of interest,” Eric Cadeau, a regional field planner with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), said in a release.
Known as “The Porkies,” the popular park receives more than 300,000 visitors each year. The DNR predicts that Lake Superior’s water levels will likely be at, or near, record-high levels through April 2020. “In addition to the high-water levels, County Road 107 is affected by wind and waves traveling from up to 170 miles away, which increases wave energy and heightens erosive impacts on the shoreline and the undermining of the road,” Cadeau said. The DNR is considering long-term solutions to the problem.
An outline of proposed options and costs is available on the DNR website.