New Lakefront Park Closed As A Result of Halloween Storms
The City of Whiting has officially declared a local state of emergency as a result of the 70 plus mile an hour high winds and 20 foot waves, which caused significant damage to the Whiting Lakefront on Friday.
As a result of this damage, the City has closed Whiting Lakefront Park to all non-emergency vehicles and pedestrian traffic until all unsafe conditions have been rectified.
Mayor Joe Stahura respectfully asks for everyone to honor the park closing until conditions are deemed safe. The City hopes to be able to reopen the lakefront entry roads by Monday morning, but access to the shoreline will be limited until all damage has been repaired.
High winds uprooted more than a dozen mature and several dozen newly planted trees. The high waves were so powerful that in some locations, shoreline armor stones, some as large as 20,000 pounds, were moved from their original locations or are now simply gone.
Mayor Stahura stated, after assessing the tree damage in the original section of the Lakefront Park, “we’ve had high winds and strong storms in the past, but we have never experienced winds powerful enough to take down this many large trees and do this much damage.”
Crews will barricade off unsafe conditions over the weekend as they work to clear the roadway.
“We’ll get this cleaned up, repaired and reassess our options to prevent this from occurring again,” says Stahura. “It won’t be easy and I don’t have all the answers right now, but we’ll take care of it.”
The City of Whiting website and Facebook page will also be used to provide updates to the residents.