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Access into the main parking lot, boat ramp and the fishing pier at Sandy River Reservoir will close Sunday, Sept. 11 at 8 p.m. and reopen Thursday, Sept. 15 at 8 a.m. to allow for repairs to the parking lot, according to a release from Prince Edward County. Reservoir Road, State Route 792, will be shut down and barricaded at its intersection with Monroe Church Road, State Route 640.

“Over the last year, the County Buildings and Grounds Supervisor, Randy Cook, has been systematically assessing all of our public buildings and spaces to determine what needs to be done to improve the public’s accessibility to county facilities,” said Prince Edward County Administrator Douglas P. Stanley. “We realize closing the reservoir parking area for three full days will be an inconvenience, but we ask the public to please pardon our progress.”

“We encourage our citizens and our visitors, especially those who wish to launch a boat, to give Briery Creek Lake a try while the parking access to Sandy River Reservoir is closed,” Stanley added. “Briery is an easy fifteen minutes away from Sandy River and offers the same great fishing experience.”

Briery Creek is the 845-acre lake owned by the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources and located within the Briery Creek Wildlife Management Area in Prince Edward County. The main access points into the lake are Routes 790 and 701, just off U.S. 15, south of Hampden-Sydney. Route 790 leads to a small parking area near the dam, a concrete boat ramp, with courtesy pier, and a large, paved parking area and two porta-john facilities. At the end of  Route 790 there is a large peninsula that offers a lot of shoreline access for bank fishing. There is also a covered handicapped fishing pier. Route 701 leads to a two-lane concrete boat ramp, with courtesy piers, a large paved parking area, porta-john facilities and plenty of shoreline to fish.

There is very limited parking for bank fishing and canoe/kayak access for Sandy River at the end of Gates-Bass Road; however, there is no motor boat access or boat launch. It is anticipated that Reservoir Road will re-open Thursday, Sept. 15, as long as there is no inclement weather or other difficulties. The rain dates for this project are the following week, Sept. 19 through 21, with a similar schedule for closing and re-opening. The County plans to keep the public updated via Facebook and will be installing on-site message boards. For additional information contact the County Administrator’s Office at (434) 392-8837.