Missaukee County — The primary boat launch for Missaukee County Parks getting some upgrades that will soon impact where boaters can launch from.
Parks director, Todd Anderson, said the boat launch will be closed for badly needed repairs, starting October 13th.
People are being advised to remove their boats from the water before that date or find an alternative boat launch to get into the water.
“People were having issues with their boat trailers and stuff and having to back into the water so far to get their boats off their trailers. And it’s just going to be you know, it’s going to eliminate all that,” said Anderson.
Anderson said the current ramp is aging-making accessibility difficult and creating safety issues.
“The shape that it was in, you know, it’s old. It’s been, you know, seen a lot of boulders and a lot of traffic in it and stuff. And I mean, if you walk out there, there, it definitely drops off in a few spots,” said Anderson.
He said the county secured a DNR grant worth more than $267,000 to be able to make improvements.
Anderson said Molon Excavating out of Traverse City will be removing the old ramp and building a new one.
“They’ll pour a brand-new ramp, and they’ll cut a piece off the pavement right here and then put the concrete right up to the pavement itself,” said Anderson.
Anderson said they also plan to extend the dock by ten feet and also repair sections of the lagoon seawall.
“There’s a hole over there that drains into that swamp, if the water level gets up high and there’s a pipe that goes into that, there’s some rusted areas around that. So, we are actually going to remove those and put new pieces in for that,” said Anderson.
He said they chose October 13th as the closing date to be the least disruptive as possible.
the park closed for camping Wednesday, but the park remains open for people wanting to use the amenities
“We have to do it before the bad weather comes, you know, and stuff because they can’t do it with ice on the lake. So, nobody knows in Michigan when the weather’s going to change,” said Anderson.
Anderson said he understands it’s an inconvenience with this launch being the most popular of the three for Lake Missaukee.
“It’s just a one-time thing to make the ramp that much better and more accessible and stuff for the voters for next year,” said Anderson.
He said it’ll be worth it for the improvements when they open the boat launch back up.
“They will definitely be a lot happier with the way that the ramp and the dock are both going to be a lot more user friendly and a lot more accessible,” said Anderson.