Park staff at the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site continues to remove downed trees; repair trail, drain, and ground washouts; and mend or replace fences. Significant repairs are needed on Front Lake trail and on a portion of the park shuttle route before the park can re-open.
“Since the August 2022 failure of Front Lake dam, Front Lake trail has been the primary pedestrian detour into the park for our 150,000 annual visitors,” said Superintendent Polly Angelakis. “Hurricane Helene destroyed two small bridges on this trail and eroded adjacent banks, making the trail impassable. The park is working with contractors to fix these issues. In addition, a culvert along the park shuttle route was severely undercut. It must be repaired before the shuttle can resume its normal route. We’ve been addressing this repair.”
The hurricane destroyed what was left of Front Lake bridge and dam. Dam repairs, which weresupposed to begin in FY25, have been delayed indefinitely. The park’s main sewer pipe, adjacent to the dam, broke into pieces due to flooding. The pipe supported most of the park. The park is working with contractors on repairs.