Residents of southeastern Walton County as well as others traveling through the area will soon get a clearer sense of the scope of the 1,400-acre Hard Labor Creek Regional Reservoir project.

Construction crews on Monday will begin clear cutting the area that will be filled by the lake, Project Manager Jimmy Parker told the Reservoir Management Board at its regular meeting Wednesday afternoon at the Walton County Government Building in Monroe.

Crews with construction firm Layne Heavy Civil will work for the next six–eight months, Parker said, clearing the reservoir basin. They will cut trees 18–24 inches above the ground and leave the stumps.

Residents and others using the roads can expect to encounter lots of timber trucks hauling the trees to mills for processing, Parker said.

A previous version of this post included a photo misidentified as Jimmy Parker.

For more, go to Oconee County Observations.