COVINGTON, LA — The City of Covington is creating a $500,000 invitation to attract more people to Bogue Falaya Park.  It’s the first phase of the master plan for the park, and construction is underway.

The first phase includes the construction of a bulkhead, boardwalk, and ramp to allow access to the Bogue Falaya River.

“This is an important project for our community, for our park, in that we’re going to give residents and visitors alike the opportunity to have a location to launch kayaks and canoes,” Covington Mayor Mike Cooper told WGNO.

Cooper expects the work on the first phase to be finished by the end of April.  He says the park’s master plan also calls for the construction of a fishing pier, concert area, walking paths, sandy beach, new playground and picnic equipment, and other improvements which will be outlined further as additional phases of the master plan begin over the next five to ten years.

Because the river has a history of flooding past its banks, all of the park’s improvements will be built to withstand any high water.

“We received a grant from the Land and Water Conservation Fund which is administered by the Lieutenant Governor’s Office,” Cooper said.  They provided 50 percent of the cost to this project, which ultimately is over a half a million dollar project, the rest of the money coming from the City of Covington, which we budgeted.

For more on the park, including drone and other shots of the construction work, click on the video button at the top of this page.