The commission voted to execute an agreement with the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to get $2.6 million to build the boat ramp facility. The funds are provided through the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act, or GOMESA, The GOMESA program provides revenue from offshore oil and gas leases for states in the northern Gulf that allow drilling off their shores.
The ramps will be built on a 45-acre site purchased by the county west of the toll bridge at the south end of the Baldwin Beach Express.
County Engineer Joey Nunnally said final plans for the project are being developed.
“We are probably going to start advertising for bids around sometime in February and then once we get the award done and contract signed, probably a couple of months after that, we’ll probably start construction,” Nunnally said Tuesday. “We’re probably looking around, what it that, around May for having boots on the ground and starting construction. That’s the timeline we’re working on right now.”
The plans call for the construction of about six boat launches, as well as fishing and staging piers, gazebos, a wharf area, restrooms and a parking area.
Nunnally said the final cost of the project will depend on the bids received, but the GOMESA funding should cover about half the expense.
A report by the state conservation department said the increase in population and tourism in the coastal area has created a greater demand for public boat ramps.
“As private development is rapidly capturing the available waterfrontage, especially in the southern part of Baldwin County, Ala., we are seeing increased demand for secure, high quality public park space and boater access to the Intracoastal Waterway Canal, Mobile Bay and Perdido Bay, and the Gulf of Mexico,” the report said.
“Existing public-park space was acquired and designed for a much smaller population than we are now experiencing and will see in the future. With the recent closure of a private boat launch, the remaining accesses are overwhelmed and do not provide the infrastructure necessary to safely accommodate boaters. As boaters overwhelm the existing boat launches or create an uncontrolled access by simply driving into the waterway using a shallow embankment, they create negative environmental impacts as well as create significant safety issues. Both these effects negatively contribute to our quality of life and economic resilience,” the statement continued.
