Upgrading the 150-ton boatlift at Wrangell’s boat yard is among a number of port projects set for the next several years. This year, the first phase of a repaving project at the boat yard will occur, as well as a project to improve the city dock. In future years, the boatlift will be replaced by a larger, 250-ton lift.
A number of port projects set for spring and summer in Wrangell may affect boat traffic and available outdoor space, and Port Harbormaster Greg Meissner wants to notify the public of the changes.
Two of the projects will occur at Wrangell’s boat yard. Approximately 35 to 40 percent of the yard will be resurfaced this year, replacing decades-old concrete, Meissner said.
He hopes the project will begin in May, and plans to have the boat yard functioning throughout the paving process.
However, operations will be affected when paving crews move in front of the boatlift, Meissner said.
“Because when they tear up in front of the boat haul-out itself, we can’t get the machine off the dock,” he said. “We’re stuck on the dock.”
Meissner said people who need to use the boat lift this summer need to make plans to do so as early as possible with the Harbor Department.
“Communication is going to have to be high between the boat owners wanting to come out or go in the water,” he said.
The City and Borough of Wrangell has asked the State for $8.5 million for boat yard improvements, which includes the repaving project. Borough Manager Timothy Rooney said the amount of money requested from the State would cover the total cost of the repaving project at the boat yard over the next several years.
A request for $2.75 million was also sent to the State in order for Wrangell to install a 250-ton boatlift at the boat yard, according to the Wrangell Capital Budget Request List. The boat yard currently has a 150-ton boatlift, Meissner said.
The Capital Budget Request List was approved by the Borough Assembly in February and sent to the State soon after. The boat yard projects are among the top dozen most important projects on the Borough’s prioritized list.
Meissner said he hopes all improvements at Wrangell’s boat yard will be complete in three years.
Another project set for summer will occur at the city dock. Used by barges and cruise ships, Meissner said much of the work on the approximately 400-foot-long by 50-foot-wide dock will take place on the dock’s support beams.
However, Meissner said the contractor will need storage space for equipment while working on the dock, which may prohibit the public from using the space in front of it.
Typically, people can use the space for picnicking, but Meissner said construction will interrupt that.
“It will not be business as usual out there,” he said.
Bids for the dock project came in under budget, which is allowing the city to add features to the project. For example, the dock will have antique lighting mirroring what is set to be installed in downtown Wrangell.
Meissner is introducing a change at Heritage Harbor as well. Boat trailers will be prohibited from parking at the harbor throughout the summer, he said.
In the past, Meissner said, people often launch their boat and leave their trailer there until they take the boat out of the water at the end of summer.
“Pretty soon, when it’s busy, you have two dozen trailers sitting there that never move and you go to launch your boat and you can’t find a place to park,” he said.
Now, only trailers attached to a vehicle are allowed to be at the boat launch, Meissner said.
“The trailer better be attached to a truck or it better not be there,” he said.
Passenger vehicles also will not be allowed to park near the boat launch throughout the summer, he said. Only “active boat-launcher users” are allowed to use the space, Meissner said.
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