Post-Hurricane Helene debris removed from Claytor Lake with USACE and partner agencies; College of William & Mary constructing new pedestrian bridge to enhance campus connectivity and student experience.
Virginia DCR photo
Claytor Lake after cleanup.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), in partnership with three other federal and Virginia state agencies, has completed post-Hurricane Helene debris removal at Claytor Lake and demobilized the operations center at Claytor Lake State Park.
USACE worked closely with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM), Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) and the nonprofit Friends of Claytor Lake to get the popular state park, southwest of Roanoke, Va., ready for public use once again.
Helene's rampage through the mountainous area in late September 2024 brought down hundreds of trees and scattered tons of debris in and around the lake.
Claytor Lake State Park sits on the northern shore of the reservoir and offers water access, 4 mi. of lake frontage, a swim beach and more than 470 acres of beautiful fields and woodland. The park served as the operations center for the USACE during the cleanup effort.
Debris was collected using modular barges, tugboats, excavators and a 40-cu.-yd. roll-off container before being sorted into categories: green waste, construction material, general trash and hazardous materials. Once that was completed, every bit of waste was transported to a designated dump site for disposal, the Virginia DCR noted in a March 3, 2025 news release.
"The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers takes pride in rapidly responding to natural disasters and restoring impacted areas," said Lt. Col. Anthony Funkhouser, the acting commander of the agency's Norfolk District. "Working closely with our federal, state and local partners, we successfully removed all floating and submerged debris [to return] Claytor Lake to its pre-storm conditions, ensuring it remains safe and accessible for the community. We appreciate the patience of residents and visitors as we completed this critical effort."
With the operations center demobilized, the Claytor Lake State Park boat ramp and Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) boat ramp located off Bear Drive are now operating as normal seven days a week.
"The cleanup of Claytor Lake is a testament to the resilience and dedication of our federal and state agencies, park rangers, and community members," said DCR Director Matt Wells. "Their combined efforts have restored this natural space, demonstrating what can be achieved when we work together for the benefit of our public lands."
Due to damage caused by large equipment working to clear the hurricane debris, the Virginia DCR noted that the park's boat ramps and parking lots still require repairs, as well as a regrading of the state DWR's parking lot. This work will require temporary closures, which will be announced at a later date.
William & Mary Pedestrian Bridge to Help Link Campus
For the past 60 years, various methods have been used to connect the older College of William & Mary (W&M) campus in Williamsburg, Va., with the more modern one.
The most recent effort will be a pedestrian bridge/walkway that will link the school's residential and dining facilities, currently under construction, with the student life facilities of the Sadler Center and its neighboring wellness and career centers, according to a March 3, 2025, story in the Norfolk Daily Press.
Long ago many of the ravines on the western part of campus were water-filled branches of Lake Matoaka. After the water receded, they became barriers that inhibited easy movement across the landscape that became William & Mary. At other times they became conduits for campus rainwater runoff.
The first major connection came in 1963 as the campus developed around the Earl Gregg Swem Library. It was a highway bridge with sidewalks that were constructed over a large ravine and was, at one end, simply a dirt wall.
Eventually, the bridge and walkway connected Dupont Hall and the Botetourt Complex with the rest of the W&M campus.
That was followed by the construction of what is today called the Crim Dell bridge, which was erected over a pond.
The new pedestrian bridge, the Daily Press reported, is expected to be completed this fall, and is part of the university's master plan "to enhance the student experience" with residential halls and dining centers, according to Amber Hall, an architect and senior project manager for William & Mary.
"The completion of the bridge is an exciting step towards connecting various districts of campus," she said in a news release. "The William & Mary community will benefit from new walkways, which will enhance our existing pathway network.
Those wooded pathways in and around the university are now temporarily closed, and signage is posted to provide pedestrians with detour information. Vehicular traffic will not be rerouted, the school said.
The West Woods project includes four new residence buildings (Popular Hall, Maple Hall, Oak Hall, and Pine Hall) that will provide 935 students with housing, and a 50,000-sq.-ft. dining facility.
These Phase One projects are each expected to open for the 2025 fall semester.
The second part of the West Woods project, including the redevelopment of the Randolph housing complex, is expected to be completed in the fall of 2027, the Daily News noted.
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