DNREC News: DNREC Unveils New Boat Ramp and Lewes Field Facility

News from the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.

May 22, 2009 - Vol. 39, No. 236

Contact: Joanna Wilson or Melinda Carl, Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.

DNREC Unveils New Boat Ramp and Lewes Field Facility

LEWES – DNREC Secretary Collin O’Mara and Division Directors joined legislators, City of Lewes officials, U.S. Coast Guard representatives and contractors this morning to cut the ribbon on the new Division of Fish and Wildlife Lewes public boat ramp, tour the Division of Soil and Water Conservation’s new field office and remind the public to practice safe boating.

With boat trailers rolling into the busy parking area, a brief ceremony began with the reading of Governor Jack Markell’s Proclamation of May 16-22 as National Safe Boating Week, followed by the formal ribbon cutting and tour.

“Today we complete the transformation of a contaminated and abandoned industrial site into a recreational treasure that will allow current and future generations to enjoy the beautiful waters of Lewes. Further, this new facility is a model of sustainable practices that we must work to integrate into future building design,” Secretary O’Mara said.

Located at the north end of Pilottown Road in a sheltered harbor overlooking the Lewes Canal and out into the ocean, the boat ramp and field office have been in the planning stages since 2003, with design and construction beginning in 2005.

“By pooling the resources of our two DNREC divisions, we were able to accomplish much more than we could have working alone,” said Division of Fish and Wildlife Director Patrick Emory. “We turned a decaying commercial complex into a useful joint facility that will serve the needs of both our divisions as well as the needs of the boating public for many years to come.”

The handicapped accessible public boat ramp features six concrete launch lanes, three prelaunch “make ready” areas, three post-trip tie-down areas, four full floatation boarding docks and two full floatation courtesy docks, plus paved parking for more than 150 vehicles towing trailers, designated single car parking and a fully accessible, 8-foot wide boardwalk area for strolling and boat watching along the waterfront.

The new ramp’s location at the mouth of the Broadkill River at Roosevelt Inlet provides boaters with almost immediate access to the Delaware Bay, eliminating 15-20 minutes of no-wake-speed travel from the former ramp site, which was located closer to the city’s downtown commercial and historic district.

Adjoining the public boat ramp area is DNREC’s new multipurpose field office, which includes administrative office space, a maintenance shop and garage totaling 15,000 square feet. The Division of Soil and Water Conservation’s Shoreline and Waterway Management Section operates out of the facility, including beach and dredging crews.

Other DNREC staff, for example, enforcement officers, also use office space when working in the area away from their regular home offices, and meeting space is available for Department functions as well as city, county and community meetings.

The entire complex was designed to be flexible, functional and durable, using construction materials such as stainless steel and marine grade aluminum that can withstand the harsh salt water environment for years to come. A shared stormwater management system directs runoff to best management practice areas seeded with warm season grasses. The storm-resistant buildings are constructed with innovative flood-proofing techniques and feature high efficiency fixtures, air and heat.

“This is a win-win for everyone involved. In building this facility, DNREC remediated and revitalized a brownfields site, Fish and Wildlife was able to move and expand its boat ramp to better serve the public, and Soil and Water has a much improved facility with the vital direct water access we need to carry out our work, including beach maintenance, channel marking, macro-algae harvesting, dredging and derelict structure removal,” said Division of Soil and Water Conservation Director Robert Baldwin.

The site formerly housed an abandoned and deteriorating commercial industrial complex last used as the Doxsee clam processing plant. Extensive clean up was the project’s first step, removing such hazardous materials as asbestos, creosote, lead and oils. Under DNREC’s supervision, the site was remediated to meet stringent residential-level standards. In addition, project planners used innovative recycling and reuse techniques to save money and landfill space.

All of the old structures on the site were demolished and recycled, with a bare minimum of materials being landfilled, saving trucking and landfill costs. All of the concrete block and slab materials were crushed on site, keeping 100,000 cubic yards of concrete rubble from reaching a landfill. Instead, the material was used as needed construction fill upon which project components including the access road were constructed, resulting in additional construction savings for hauling and fill costs.

The boat ramp project was completed with combined state and federal funding, including Sportfish Restoration Program funding through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the State Bond Bill. Boat ramp contractors included Andrews Miller & Associates of Cambridge, Md. (boat ramp design and demolition plan); Melvin Benhoff & Sons of Baltimore (demolition); and JJID of Bear (boat ramp construction). The Soil and Water facility was funded by the State Bond Bill. Contractors included Studio JAED of Wilmington (design) and Richard Y. Johnson & Son of Lincoln (facility construction).