A popular boat ramp with anglers in Sussex County will be closing this week for major reconstruction and expansion.
The Wagamons Pond boat ramp and parking lot in Milton will temporarily close starting Thursday.
“The Wagamons Boat reconstruction project is first needed because the boat ramp is kind of deteriorating; we have some infrastructure issues," said Jeremey Ashe, the fisheries construction manager for the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife at DNREC. "The concrete is crumbling, we have a bulkhead that is pretty much deteriorated and the parking lot needs to be repaved. And so what we’re going to do is - we’re going to be replacing the boat ramp and replacing the concrete bulkhead with a new vinyl bulkhead.”
Ashe notes that in addition to the new bulkhead and repaved parking lot, the project also involves installing a brand new courtesy dock.
“Currently there’s not a courtesy dock, So when you launch the boat, you kind of have the boat float in the water while you go park your car, or shove it up on land somehow,""said Ashe. :The courtesy dock allows the person to launch the boat and have it attached to the dock, while they drive away and park the car and then they can easily access the boat. And everything is getting upgraded for ADA compliant.
The new project's cost is $315,200. 75% will be paid for with a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service federal aid grant. State Licensing Funds generated by fishing licenses sales will cover the other 25-percent.
The boat ramp is expected to reopen on May 30, 2021, if weather does not delay the wrok schedule.
While Wagamons Pond Boat Ramp is unavailable, anglers can use nearby boat ramps and fishing areas at Millsboro Pond and Ingrams Pond, Blairs Pond, Griffith Lake and Abbotts Ponds near Milford.
