By Cyndy Slovak-Barton

Getting from the Kyle end of Old Stagecoach Road to the San Marcos side will not get any easier any time soon.

The bridge crossing the Blanco River below Five Mile Dam was washed out during the Memorial Day flood. 

With bridge and road repairs in the Wimberley and San Marcos areas taking precedence, the bridge over the Blanco is still covered in debris, with logs remaining and an overturned car sitting on the riverbank.

But the condition of the Blanco River banks hasn’t kept sun-seekers away from the area, as residents walk up and down river, sunbathing or swimming.

The bridge over the Blanco River is not expected to be completed until May 2016, according to Hays County Pct. 4 Commissioner Ray Whisenant.

Final reports are not in from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). Whisenant said he expects those files later this week.

What Whisenant does know is that the bid on the job should be let by the end of September or early October. After the bids are opened and the job is awarded, cleanup and construction should begin immediately, with the bridge expected to be completed some time in May.

Whisenant said he was happy to report that the state would be paying for more of the repairs than Hays County would be required to pitch in.

As for the Five Mile Dam parks (Johnson and Vetter parks), the area is not yet open and no date has been set to reopen the popular park.

Roads and trails within the park area are damaged and debris remains along the river. 

“It would be dangerous to individuals and irresponsible of the county to allow persons to enter (the park) at this point,” Laureen Chernow, spokesperson for Hays County said.

Water and electricity at the site are out, so the soccer fields cannot be irrigated, leaving them fragile for damage, should players begin to run or practice on the fields at this point.

The soccer fields at the park are maintained by the city of San Marcos and the soccer association.