Bynum Mill Access Plans Move Slowly
NC State Parks has created a preliminary design for improvements at the Bynum Mill access on the Haw River.
The design will go out for bids July 1, 2023, and construction is expected to take place in 2024.
The access is used as a put-in by paddlers who are running the Middle Haw.
Click here to download the site plans.
Here are the proposed site improvements:
1. Main parking: Two large lots located off Bynum Church Road will remain and have about 45 spaces. The lots will be resurfaced.
2. Bridge parking: The small lot off Bynum Road near the pedestrian bridge will be enlarged and resurfaced to provide 17 spaces.
3. Rest rooms: State Parks plans to add restrooms to the site. Bathrooms will have electricity, water and sewer.
4. Access: And now, what you’ve been waiting for: the “Concrete Kayak Launch,” which will remain at the same location.
The current launch point on the river is “highly erodible,” said Gretchen Smith, past president of Friends of Lower Haw River State Natural Area. “So there are plans to improve this canoe access.”
Smith said State Parks was still going through the permitting process a few weeks ago.
“The design might actually change slightly based on the permitting,” she said.
Bob,Thank you so much for attending the meeting and reporting on it. All in all, this is very good news. We all would like it to happen sooner but another year+ is not so bad considering the time it’s been in use. Having the parking lot on the Bynum Beach side is a plus, too.
Alton
Alton,
The small parking lot can be found on the state park site on river left. The South Bynum River Access (known by paddlers as the Bynum Beach access) is located on river right on county-owned property at the corner of Bynum and Bynum Beach roads. There is no parking on Bynum Beach Road, except for a short-term loading and unloading zone.