News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Rock Island’s State Park gorge will be closed until July 24 due to generators at Great Falls Dam going offline.
With the generators not working, water levels could drastically rise. Park Manager Damon Graham said the Tennessee Valley Authority, which owns the dam, will be preforming general maintenance repairs to the dam’s powerhouse.
“Without the generators being in operation for TVA, any water level they have to release over the dam,” Graham said. “It’s a little bit uncommon for both generators at the power house to be out this long.”
All park sections and swimming areas of the gorge below the dam will be closed during the maintenance. Graham said the Sandbar Beach area will be the only swimming area open. He said it’s a popular area, and recommends arriving early.
Graham said there’s been an influx of visitors after the park reopened from the pandemic.
“We’re seeing a lot of parks like ours being overrun with cars and visitors and we’re just seeing a lot of people, even when areas are full, pulling on the side of the road and on sensitive plants,” Graham said.
Anyone who parks in non designated areas could have their vehicle towed. Graham said if the parking lot is full, turn around and come back later.
“We try to maintain the park to look natural and green and protect the plants and animals,” Graham said. “That’s part of our mission, but when we have cars that pull off to the side of the road it destroys the grass and we have a lot of sensitive wildflowers in this park. There’s some areas and ferns on the side of the road that looks really bad when cars drive over that.”
Graham said if visitors see a closure sign, turn around. He said several people this year already have suffered injuries from entering closed areas.
