Petersburg Pilot -

Mild winter weather has allowed Rock-n-Road Construction to begin the rebuild of the Blaquiere Point boat launch ramp at Mile 30 Mitkof Highway on the southeast side of Mitkof Island.

The project will include the rebuild and extension of the launch ramp, construction of a level parking pad for 19 vehicles with trailers and a new vault toilet. Sig Burrell of Rock-n-Road said they will add four picnic tables at the far end of the parking lot on an elevated pad.

The 224-foot x 20-foot wide concrete plank ramp will include over 40-feet of rock fill on the tidelands at the end of the planking, allowing for launch and recovery of boats at low tide.

The launch ramp as viewed from atop the rock pile.

Funding for the expected $450,000 project comes from a federal Secure Rural Schools fund and was piggybacked on other Federal road projects, according to U.S. Forest Ranger Jason Anderson.

Locals have used the rocky unimproved site for years to launch skiffs accessing the middle arm of the Stikine River and Knig Slough. Sharp rocks and steep terrain have made the launch site usable only for those with 4x4 vehicles which often get stuck in the mud at the lower levels of the beach during low tide.

Burrell told The Pilot the rock blasting is completed and he hopes to have the ramp roughed in this month. Burrell said he hopes to have the project completed by mid-May, pending the arrival of the concrete planks.

The 360-foot x 100-foot parking pad atop the ramp will be gravel surfaced with two entrance points onto Mitkof Highway.