EAST LIVERPOOL Boat launch project delayed and reduced

It's possible the project could be finished before next year's boating season ends.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
EAST LIVERPOOL -- A project to improve a public boat launch on the Ohio River is being delayed and reduced.
City officials were forced to take those steps after bids for the nearly $379,400 Broadway Wharf renovation came in too high last month, Bill Cowan, city planner, explained Monday.
To reduce the cost, officials are likely to forgo plans to pave a parking lot at the wharf, which is located off River Road near downtown.
Instead, the gravel lot will get a layer of tar and gravel, Cowan explained.
Metal wall: Planners also intend to reduce the length of a metal wall that will be built in the water about 12 feet from the riverbank.
Fill will be placed behind the wall and a sidewalk will be installed atop it. Docks will be attached.
Originally, the city intended to make the wall 133 feet long. Under the revised plans, it will be shorter. The length has yet to be decided, Cowan said.
Officials had hoped to start the wharf improvement project this fall. But the high bids made it necessary not only to revise the job but also to seek new quotes. That means the project's starting date must be postponed until late winter or early spring, Cowan said.
The job will take about five months to complete. It could be finished before next year's boating season ends.
More features: Other aspects of the project include a second boat-launching ramp to the facility, which draws boaters from throughout Columbiana and Mahoning counties.
The second ramp will reduce the time it takes to put in or take out a boat on busy summer weekends, during which about 100 boats per day may put in at the wharf.
Three 30-foot-long floating docks also will be installed.
The facility has just one dock, which is reserved for boaters putting in and taking out.
Boaters will be allowed to tie up at the new docks for a longer period.
An Ohio Department of Natural Resources grant is paying for 75 percent of the project. The remainder will be paid by the city.