Sulphur River Gallery 20
Highway 37 Logjam
This is a view looking north from
the State Highway 37 bridge over Sulphur River a couple of miles
north of Hagansport.
This is a massive logjam near the
Highway 37 bridge. I have been told that it stretches for about
a mile down the river and has been an obstacle to river navigation,
as well as an eyesore, for many years. This view is looking to
the east from the bridge. For further information, see the discussion
of this logjam that took place at the Sulphur River Basin Authority
meeting on 21 May 2002. Also,
I have heard that there is another smaller river logjam north
of Sugar Hill. Supossedly, about 30 years ago, the river authority
tried to "straighten" this section of the river a little
bit by evening out the shorelines. In the process this weakened
the new adjacent shoreline. After some horrific rainstorms and
flooding, the new shorelines "dissolved" and the riverbank
trees fell down into the river. Apparently riverwater can flow
between the logs, because the river is not particularly affected
by this logjam now, after all this time. But it is nevertheless
still an obstacle to river traffic.
UPDATE, 29 August 2002. An almost
identical picture as the preceding appeared on the front page
of Country World (published in Sulphur Springs) in their
August 22 edition. Staff Photographer Lynn Montgomery wrote this
caption for their photograph: "A severe logjam, above, has
been a problem for people living along the Sulphur River for years.
The jam was one item discussed at the Aug. 13 Sulphur River Basin
Authority (SRBA) monthly meeting. Michael Burke, SRBA administrator,
told concerned citizens the problem would be addressed at an Aug.
14 meeting between the Corps of Engineers, Texas Water Development
Board, Texas Department of Transportation and the SRBA. Findings
from the Aug. 14 meeting would be made public at the Sept. 17
SRBA meeting set for 1:30 p.m. at the Titus County Civic Center
in Mount Pleasant. The [cleanup of the] logjam, which can be seen
from the Highway 37 bridge near Hagansport, was hampered after
a rechannelization project lost funding."
This man and two boys were fishing
from a small motorboat on the west side of the bridge. The massive
logjam effectively cuts the river into two parts, as far as fishermen
are concerned. Local recreational river users must decide whether
to take their boats to the western or eastern end of Sulphur River.
A navigational obstacle of this nature would never be tolerated
in many European countries, for example.
This is a general view of Sulphur
River, looking southwestwardly from the Highway 37 bridge.
FOR LOGJAM
AERIAL PHOTOGRAHS, CLICK HERE.
20 MAY 2004
Update: 22 September 2002
The following article by Clarissa Cutrell,
Staff Writer, appeared in the Mount Pleasant Daily Tribune
on 20 September 2002.
A logjam on the Sulphur River that has been
plaguing residents with rising waters and Highway 37 road closures
will take three years and $3 million dollars to study, said the
Army Corps of Engineers. Michael Burke, administrator for the
Sulphur River Basin Authority, reported at a recent meeting of
the board that the Corps of Engineers is willing to foot half
of that bill, and the Texas Water Development Board, "with
the proper application", would cover half of the remaining
balance.
"That leaves $750,000 for some local
sponsor to come up with," he continued, noting that the Sulphur
River Basin Authority did not have the funds to participate in
the study. "Now the Texas Department of Transportation, which
is currently looking at doing something with the bridges in that
area may or may not participate," Burke added on a brighter
note. "As I understand it, the Highway Department is looking
at major renovations and repairs to Highway 37 because of the
logjam and flooding caused by it. ... So it could be that they
will participate in this study."
As Burke receives more information on the
proposed study, he promised to pass it on to the board.
The logjam in question is not a new phenomenon.
It has been vexing residents for years now and steadily increased
in severity. Many worry that Highway 37 will not survive a three-year
study. According to Burke, the roots of the problem date back
to the Army Corps of Engineers' Cooper Lake and Sulphur River
Rechannelization Project of the 1950s and 60s. The Cooper Lake
reservoir was built to control flooding along the South Sulphur
River and Sulphur River.
"According to the report, what happened
was, about 55 miles of the river was rechannelized or straightend
out. When they got past Highway 37, about half a mile, the project
was taken out. Out of funding," Burke explained. The result
was a straight, deep channel that the water moved along with increased
velocity, carrying with it sedimentation and any other debris
in the water. When it hit the end of the rechannelized part of
the river, the water boiled up and debris began building. "Now
what has happened is it's built up all the way to Highway 37,"
Burke said.
In 1999, the Army Corps of Engineers did
a $100,000 reconnaissance study. The study now proposed will determine
the environmental impact of removing the logjam, and will be much
more in-depth than the first.
To read another
article from the 28 June 2002 Mount Pleasant Daily Tribune
regarding this logjam,
CLICK HERE.
GO TO GALLERY
21
GO
BACK TO GALLERY CONTENTS
GO BACK TO
MAIN WELCOME PAGE
