PORT HADLOCK — The popular Port of Port Townsend Water Street boat ramp in Port Hadlock, often buried in silt and sand, will be replaced thanks to a grant from the Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation.
The grant will enable the Port to build a new ramp designed to overcome the problem of siltation from the mouth of Chimacum Creek, to the north.
It will also allow the Port to acquire permanent easement and create 10 to 12 parking spaces up the street near the launch for vehicles and boat trailers, Port officials said.
The grant will also fund design and permits to develop the new launch, parking lot and access trail.
The state agency recently awarded a $96,744 grant to the Port, ranking it third among 15 applicants for more than $5 million in funding.
“We didn’t think we were going to get it,” Executive Director Larry Crockett said Wednesday. “There’s so many projects around the state.”
Boat-building school
Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding, based near the existing boat launch, joined the Port in the grant application for the project at the south end of Port Townsend Bay.
The Port will match the grant with $37,000 in cash and donated land.
