ASSATEAGUE ISLAND – A campground improvement project at Assateague State Park has been postponed until next fall.
This week, park officials announced that the start of a two-phase project to relocate campground roads and fortify sand dunes will not take place this fall as planned. Instead, the project’s start date has been rescheduled to October of 2018.
Earlier this year, officials at Assateague State Park announced the beginning of a two-phase project that would fix eroding sand dunes and protect what is behind them.
The first phase of the park’s campground improvement project would shift six campground roads, called loops, westward to allow for dune migration. Many of the eastern-most campsites along the loops will either be eliminated or relocated. The second phase of the project would fortify the sand dunes and make additional improvements to the dune system.
Park Manager Angela Baldwin said complexities in the state’s procurement process delayed the project’s start and completion dates.
“We didn’t want to risk inconveniencing people,” she said. “The decision was made to push the project back and give us a longer timeframe.”
The first and second phases of the project will now be completed together, according to Baldwin. Construction will begin in October of 2018 and will end prior to the 2019 camping season.
Because the campground’s configuration will not change in the coming year as planned, reservations for the 2018 season will change accordingly.
“Everybody who had an existing reservation will continue to have a reservation,” Baldwin said.
The majority of campers with 2018 reservations will remain at the same site, but will be emailed a revised site name, according to Baldwin. The remaining campers with reservations at sites that would have been relocated will be contacted for an alternative site. Park officials will also contact campers with existing reservations from Oct. 8-28 in loops that will be affected by construction.
Assateague State Park reservations will be closed to facilitate the transition of existing 2018 reservations, Baldwin said. Campers can cancel, modify or make a new reservation starting Jan. 8, 2018 at 9 a.m.
“If you had a reservation … those still exist,” she said.
Baldwin said the 2018 camping season will remain “business as usual.”
“Everything is just on hold,” she said.
Baldwin said the park’s campground improvement project will protect resources and amenities within the park from storms, rising sea levels and high tides. Until the project commences, she explained park staff will continue to maintain the dune system.
“It is really a high priority for us, but we have to accommodate our visitors,” she said.
Once construction begins, six campground loops – C, D, E, F, G and H – will shift back 20-100 feet to allow space for the dune system to move westward. Eight sites will be eliminated from the campground, but remaining areas will either be relocated to spaces between other sites or to a southern location in Camp Loop J, called walk-in sites.
Officials also plan to strengthen the dune system by adding sand on its west side, installing fences and planting grass.
Changes to the campground loops will also impact reservations for the 2019 camping season as many of the camping loops will be renamed and renumbered.
Baldwin encourages those with questions about the project to visit the Assateague State Park website for more information.
“We want to thank our visitors for their patience and understanding,” she said.
