Ferry closing down for final ramp work

The ferry Oscar B. will be out of service next week as Legacy Conracting, Inc., finishes improvements to the Puget Island ramp.

The ferry will go out of service Monday; the closure could last into Friday.

The new nosing assembly will fit the new ferry and distribute weight better than the present ramp, which was designed to fit the old ferry, the Wahkiakum.

County commissioners have approved Legacy's request to use the ferry as a work area for the project.

"This would allow us to make sure the new nosing and the ferry have a good match and that no issues arise in the future," Legacy said in an August 12 letter to county Public Works Director Pete Ringen.

"It's a unique request," Ringen said Tuesday. "The ferry isn't there for contractors' use, but this works out for the best."

After making sure the contractor would be responsible for any damage done to the ferry during the work, Commissioners Mike Backman and Blair Brady voted to approve the request and also the ferry service closure.

In other business, North Welcome Slough Road resident Kevin Prestegard urged the commission to make sure all of the Puget Island flood control zones are included in plans and permits to receive beach nourishment from Columbia River channel dredging.

There are three areas in the zones, East Sunny Sands Road, North Welcome Slough Road and Ostervold Road, and commissioners have been working with the US Army Corps of Engineers to get a disposal project going along East Sunny Sands where erosion is threatening houses.

"North Welcome Slough has issues, too," Prestegard said. Projects and permits for all the zones should be ready to go at any time rather than having each zone develop its own projects and permits.

He also suggested finding a way to maintain the sand on the beach.

"Getting sand on the beach is half the project," he said. "The second half is making sure it stays there."

He suggested armoring beaches with riprap rock or even driving sheet piling to keep sand from eroding.

"That will never happen," said Commissioner Brady. "They (permitting agencies) would never permit it."

Instead, the county wants to develop a long-term program that can be renewed when necessary, he said.