The Higgins Ferry Park boat launch will be closed this weekend, Park Ranger Frank Atkinson announced Wednesday.

Heavy rain on Tuesday saturated the ground where state crews were working, causing unexpected delays with the project.

The park itself will be open this weekend, but people will not be able to launch their boats from the Higgins Ferry boat ramp until the renovations are complete.

“We’ve got a lot of people anticipating coming out this weekend,” Atkinson said. “The park and the campsites are open, but people are canceling because they can’t launch from here.”

The state Division of Wildlife and Fisheries is resurfacing the ramp and the parking lot adjacent to the launch. Crews are also removing the “hump” in the middle of the ramp that has drawn complaints from many boaters.

Atkinson said freezing weather last winter caused significant damage to the pavement.

“We’ve got holes in the parking lot and we’ve got holes in the boat ramp itself — deep holes where it froze and buckled up,” he said.

Once the work is finished, the ramp will not be as steep as before, Atkinson said. About 10 days after the paving is complete, the crews will return and re-stripe both parking lots.

Atkinson said the work is expected to be complete in time for the launch to re-open by next weekend.