Westport's Landing Commission has a draft plan in place for improved river access
WESTPORT — With limited access to the Westport River for everyone — from recreational boaters to oyster farmers — there’s a proposal on the table to renovate the Hix Bridge Landing and boat ramp.
As one of only two public access points with deep enough water for commercial and recreational boats in the 14-square-mile Westport River, recreational boaters, kayakers, rowers and fishermen as well as commercial shellfish farmers use Hix Bridge Landing for access.
The Westport Landing Commission will hold a public meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 20, in the Town Hall Annex to review a draft plan so that residents and anyone else can ask questions and offer their input.
Landing Commission Chairman Jeff Bull said access is more than a matter of convenience to the commercial interests.
“If they can’t put their boats in the river, they can’t harvest oysters and clams,” he said.
How much will it cost?
He said with the potential for federal grant money to be made available to cities and towns to combat climate change, and with competition for grants such as emergency preparedness, coastline restoration and handicap accessibility grants, there’s some urgency to planning ahead.
Infrastructure costs for this kind of work have doubled in recent years, according to Bull, and if fully constructed, this project is expected to cost more than $800,000 and be funded primarily by grants.
Bull said if the existing ramp section that is underwater fails, the costs will go up dramatically, and boaters could lose access for more than a season.
Focusing on the goals of the Landing project
The project goals include an improved boat ramp with the current ramp damaged and at risk of failure; a better, safer dock and float system that will speed up launching boats; an improved parking lot that will no longer drain untreated stormwater runoff into the river; handicapped parking and river access; and resistance to sea level increase.
He said the boat ramp itself last had work done to it about 50 years ago, and the existing floats are hand-me-downs from the Route 88 state boat ramp project and have been patched together over the years. The boat ramp is the busiest on weekends during the summer.
The dirt parking lot gets re-graded as needed, typically every couple of years, because much of it washes into the river, so that is another problem the town wants to solve. Only Westport residents with stickers can park in the lot. People often fish from the shoreline or from the bridge.
Bull said Westport will also pursue funding through the state’s Seaport Economic Council and other grants that are available.
He said there aren’t a lot of options for what can be done, but it’s important to find out from the people who use it what is important to them and meet their needs as much as possible to design things around what their needs are.
More about the process for town approval
He said there may be additional meetings of the Commission focusing on what can be accomplished, and ultimately their recommendations will be submitted to the Select Board for approval.
After the final plan is approved by the Select Board, the permitting, bidding and grant applications for construction will begin.
A large print of the proposed plan is posted next to the Town Clerk's office at Town Hall, and a download of the plan is available at www.westport-ma-com.
The engineering and design process is funded by state grants and the Disability Commission. For those who cannot attend the meeting, comments can be submitted to westportlandingcommission@gmail.com.
Standard-Times staff writer Kathryn Gallerani can be reached at kgallerani@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @kgallreporter. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Standard-Times today.
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Hix Bridge Landing in Westport needs a makeover
