VIDALIA — Those who want to use the first phase of the new Vidalia marina will have to take it up with Old Man River.

“We are still waiting for the river to go down before we can finish the construction,” Mayor Hyram Copeland said. “The river has been up longer than it has in many years.”

But what’s left to be finished shouldn’t take all that long.

The contractor has to do some finishing touches on the parking lot and where the new boat ramp crosses the riverwalk.

After that, the boat ramp has to be finished, and it can’t be extended to its full length until the river falls below a certain point, Copeland said.

The city hopes to meet with the contractor in the coming week to get the construction kicked back off, he said.

“Hopefully, we will have the first phase finished by early fall,” Copeland said.

Construction on the marina — intended for non-commercial boating — began in October.

Located on the southern end of the riverfront, the first phase of the marina project will be completed at a cost of $345,000, and was funded by an act of Congress through the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

The first phase included widening a parking lot as well the southern boat ramp that already existed on the riverfront, and making the ramp more accessible from the roadway.

The second phase, which Copeland said should cost between $275,000 and $500,000, will be to build a floating dock and wave alternator.

The second phase of the marina is still in the planning stages, and Copeland said the city will continue to seek funding for it.

A proposed third phase would add more docking space to the second phase.