Cars filled the parking lot at Vicksburg National Military Park Saturday morning as temperatures climbed back to normal following a weeklong freeze, but that was as far as park visitors could go.

The gate was pulled across the tour road entrance blocking access and the visitor center was closed as the U.S. Federal Government shutdown Saturday after congress missed Friday’s midnight deadline to pass a budget.

“Big disappointment,” said Constance Holland, who is visiting from Colorado, on the park being closed. “I am traveling around the U.S. for a year and I am staying in Vicksburg to do the area and that (the park) is the primary reason I came. I’ve got a week so I am hoping it is going to open before then, but if things stay closed that is really going to suck.”

After weeks of negotiations, the clock finally ran out in Washington D.C. Friday night shutting the government down for the first time since 2013 when it closed for 16 days.

The shutdown hit close to home in Vicksburg as the military park was forced to close indefinitely and employees at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center and AmeriCorps NCCC were left wondering if they would be furloughed come Monday.

“ERDC has the authority to continue operations on projects for which it has carryover funding,” ERDC director Dr. David Pittman said in a prepared statement. “We are looking at the funding now to evaluate how long we can continue to operate before it runs out or a shutdown is averted. At the same time, prudent management requires that we prepare for all contingencies.”

ERDC chief of public affairs Amy Phillips said all employees have to report to work Monday morning and “we will have a four-hour window to figure out where everyone stands.”

“We are tracking the situation, evaluating guidance from US Army Corps of Engineers headquarters, and working to minimize any impact to our employees and mission accomplishment,” Pittman said. “This is a difficult time for our team members but one we have faced before. ERDC team members are resilient and dedicated to accomplishing our mission. I am extremely proud of this team and the contributions they make to protect our soldiers and make the world safer and better.”

The biggest impact at ERDC is expected to occur to the civilian workforce at the center, Phillips said.

“We have very few military personnel there,” she said. “I don’t think they will be impacted. From what I understand, the military are pretty safe as far as having to go home. The bigger impact will be to the civilian personnel.”

For many of the AmeriCorps workers, businesses will continue as usual as the teams currently deployed in Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana, Georgia, North Carolina and Alabama will continue their missions. Unit leader Mark Weaver said non-essential personnel could face furloughs though.

“We are affected being a federal agency,” Weaver said. “We have been told everybody will report Monday morning for extra instructions on how the shutdown will occur. Our teams are still doing their work. Over the weekend not much is going on, but Monday morning people will report and get more instructions.”

The shutdown marks the fourth shutdown in a quarter-century. The House of Representative passed a four-week continuing resolution, but the measure failed in the Senate as the Democrats refused to back a continuing resolution until action was taken to protect the 700,000 immigrants — known as “Dreamers” — who arrived in the U.S. illegally as children from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which expires in March.

Federal programs such as Social Security will not be impacted and mail will still be delivered, but if the shutdown continues past the weekend, hundreds of thousands of federal employees will be furloughed and essential personnel such as active duty military and law enforcement will have to work without pay.

The Associated Press contributed to the article.