Wood County Commission hears presentation on river lock boat access

9/19/2024

​PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (WTAP) - The Wood County Commission is considering developing a piece of property that could provide some recreational opportunities on the Ohio River.

On Monday, the commissioners met with officials from the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources to talk about a parcel of land the DNR owns in Washington.

The property, located at the end of Northwest Drive, is home to the abandoned Ohio River Lock 19 and currently provides the public with access to a small boating ramp.

DNR Wildlife Resources Assistant Chief of Operations Zack Brown told the commissioners that there’s space for more recreational development.


“What I would like to do is partner with Wood County to develop a top-notch facility there to increase boating access,” Brown said. “We have about seven acres of land there, and part of what were considering was whether it would be in the best interest to try to get Wood County to own that property. And we’d still pay for demolishing the building and building a boat ramp, but then you all could so something with the rest of the property.”

The commissioners expressed interest in the idea of bringing more recreational opportunities to the property, though Monday’s discussion was just preliminary, with nothing concrete planned yet.

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