Contractors have closed off the Augusta Canal's upper towpath in preparation for a series of repair projects between the headgates and the waterworks pumping station.

The towpath area at the station has been closed for several weeks, but the new gates installed near the pedestrian bridge at the headgates area took some visitors by surprise Tuesday. Both the Utilities Department and the Augusta Canal Authority received calls and complaints.

"It is being closed for safety reasons," interim Utilities Director Drew Goins said. "There will be backhoes, trucks, people working with chain saws. That doesn't work well with cyclists and pedestrians.

"We thought we had conveyed our intentions clearly, but that may not have been the case," he said, adding that he has asked that signs better explaining the situation be added to the locked gates at the canal's upper end.

The Eisenhower Park access is also blocked because of the construction at the pumping station. Visitors can use the parking lot southeast of the pumping station (on the river side of the canal) to park and walk toward Lake Olmstead, but coming from the Eisenhower park side (under River Watch Parkway) is within the construction zone and therefore closed.

The work being done on the upper towpath involves repairs to eroded portions of the canal banks and removal of dead or diseased trees.

"We plan to have the work going on Monday through Saturday, and we hope to be able to open the towpath back up on Sundays," Mr. Goins said.

The repairs and tree work will take about four weeks, and the major pipeline installation at the station will take eight to 12 weeks.