Woods to be lowered for ramp repair in February Published Jan. 7, 2010 By Janaé Daniels AEDC/PA Arnold Air Force Base, Tenn. -- Beginning Feb. 1, Woods Reservoir water levels will be lowered two feet to make repairs to the Morris Ferry Dock boat ramp and to replace the current docks. The lower water level should be achieved by Feb. 15 when work is scheduled to begin. The boat ramp construction should take about four to six weeks, weather permitting. According to Ed Coppinger, assistant chief of the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency (TWRA) engineering division, the old ramp which is 28-feet wide, will be removed and a new one of a similar length will be built in the same location but extending further into the lake, permitting launch at lower lake levels or for larger boats. The public access ramp and docks located on Arnold AFB's Woods Reservoir are managed and maintained by the TWRA. While the water-level is lowered, the two current wooden piers will be removed and one new 8-by-20-foot floating courtesy dock will be installed. The courtesy dock is to be bid out and should be in place by the end of March. Coppinger said if additional work is needed on the parking lot, crews will do what is necessary to improve it. "The ramp construction should positively affect anyone who launches a boat on Woods Reservoir," Coppinger said. "Fishermen, recreational boaters, waterfowl hunters, etc., will be able to launch their boats at any normal lake level without hanging their trailer in a hole or off the end of the broken ramp."