New visitor center in the works at Tettegouche park
Construction is beginning on a new visitor center at Tettegouche State Park.
The new building will be nearly three times as big as the current visitor center and closer to Lake Superior.
State Park Manager Phil Leversedge says it will have a lakeside patio, outdoor picnic shelter, and an indoor great room with a fireplace and coffee bar.
"It'll have Wi-Fi connection so people will be able to link to resources to see what to do in the park and other places," Leversedge says, "and some nice dedicated interpretive exhibit space."
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Leversedge adds that the great room overlooking Lake Superior "gives us a chance to connect people more to the resource they're here to see."
The current building, which was built in 1986 and hosts 335,000 visitors a year, will be taken down so the materials can be reused. Solar panels will supply about a third of the center's electric needs.
Tettegouche is a state Department of Transporation rest area, so some of the money to pay for the project comes from federal transportation funds. The remainder is from state bonding approved in 2008.
The building is scheduled to be ready about a year from now.