Published: May 19, 2006 10:09 am      

Boat ramp to close for four weeks

CLINTON — A federally funded dredging project in Clinton will close the Ninth Avenue North Boat Ramp on the north side of Riverview Park for approximately four weeks, beginning Monday.

When making that announcement, Clinton Water Pollution Control Plant Superintendent Gary Schellhorn said Thursday that Joyce’s Slough also will be closed to all boat traffic from near the south end of Joyce’s Island through the flood closure structure and the entire slough north of the flood gate at Ninth Avenue.

The boat ramp is expected to be closed to public use beginning at 7 a.m. Monday. The slough south of the flood gate will be open to boat traffic after the dredging has been completed in the area south of the Ninth Avenue flood gate. The project is estimated to take four weeks to be completed.

Survey stakes will be placed in the slough that will be used as markers for the dredge to work. The city of Clinton is requesting that boaters not move these markers as it will hinder the project and could add expense to it. The stakes are expected to be in place today.

The work is being done with the assistance of a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency as part of a flood recovery project. The operation is being coordinated through Clinton’s Water Pollution Control Plant. The dredging project is expected to remove approximately 15,500 cubic yards of material from Joyce’s Slough.

This work is not related to current Vision Iowa projects being done to make improvements to Clinton’s Riverview Park.

The city of Clinton is encouraging boaters to use other public boat ramps along the banks of the Mississippi River while this dredging project is in operation. Those ramps are located at 30th Avenue North, 25th Avenue North and South Fifth Street.

For more information about this project, call the WPCP at 243-4064.