Client
The City of Escanaba
Services provided
Administrative funding assistance
Architectural services
Baseline environmental assessment
Construction quality assurance
Design services
Due diligence
Wetland permitting and mitigation
Project overview
The City of Escanaba (City) wanted to expand local recreational facilities to capture a greater segment of Upper Peninsula tourist traffic. Falling water levels in Lake Michigan compromised the effectiveness of several existing boat launches. STS was retained by the City to provide civil engineering and environmental services for the project.
Approach
The City’s Parks and Recreation Department worked with STS to construct a large capacity, public, small craft launch facility on the Escanaba River. STS designed the facility to provide necessary and beneficial public access. Construction of the facility occurred on a 12.3-acre brownfield site along the south shoreline of the Escanaba River and happened concurrently with a 1.6-acre wetland mitigation project. The boat launch consists of up to six launch sites, up to five skid piers, public restrooms, attendant building, parking lot and launch ramp lighting, video surveillance, marked navigational channel, and sufficient parking to accommodate 140 vehicles with trailers and four small vehicle parking spaces. The entire facility is ADA-accessible. As a result of STS' design work, the new public launch site provides amateur and professional fisherman, recreational boaters and other water sport enthusiasts with access to Little Bay De Noc. Further, this access is now sheltered from the rougher waters of Lake Michigan for safer enjoyment of the waterfront.
Client benefits
The Escanaba River facility now meets the demand for public access to the Bay and perpetuates the continued viability and growth of the area’s tourism economy base. With its central location on the Bay and superb navigational attributes, the Escanaba River Launching Facility solves the shortage of launching facilities and provides adequate parking for vehicles/ trailers to meet current and future demand. The facility provides local, regional, statewide and out-of-state sports fishermen and recreational boaters with safe access to the natural resources that exist at Little Bay de Noc. |
