Water Street Boat Launch Reopened to the Public

Bremerton (WA) – Construction to rebuild the public boat launch at Water Street in downtown Port Orchard is now complete and the launch is open for public use. Recognizing the need for improvements to the facility, the Port partnered with the City of Port Orchard to modernize the ramp. The public wa invited to a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at 9:00 AM Wednesday, February 27, 2013, for the reconstructed ramp.
 
For many years the Water Street ramp has served recreational boaters and businesses that rely on launching and recovering boats as a convenient, cost effective and reliable facility. During this time, the partnership between the Port and the City was key to keeping the ramp operational with the Port owning and maintaining the parking lot and adjacent park, and the city maintaining the ramp and floats. In 2011 the Port and the City recognized that time had finally caught up with the ramps and floats, and modern, more energy efficient lighting was needed in the parking lot. The Port of Bremerton has taken the lead in financing andmanaging the project.
 
The $402,000 construction project designed by PND Engineers and constructed by Quigg Brothers Inc., Aberdeen, WA consisted of demolishing the old ramps, removing the old concrete floats and wood piles, building new ramps, and installing new steel piles to hold in place modern aluminum frame floats. The deep water end of the ramps was rebuilt to better stand up to tidal and boat prop wash currents.