New boat launch opens at Point Breeze
Photos by Tom Rivers
POINT BREEZE – Carl Miller of East Aurora takes his boat out of the Oak Orchard River at the new boat launch at Point Breeze. The site opened to the public on Tuesday, April 27.
“It’s a dream,” Miller said about the new boat launch. “The ramp is well drained. The ramps are longer. It’s so much better.”
The project was $627,000 and was 95 percent funded through the state’s Lake Ontario Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative (REDI).
Carl Miller pulls his boat out of the water. He went fishing with two others and they caught a few brown trout and a lake trout on Saturday.
During the historic flooding of 2019, the previous boat ramp was submerged, preventing access to the floating docks, and forcing the boat launch to be closed.
The new launch is raised about 2 ½ feet and will be more resilient in case of flooding and higher lake levels, said John Papponetti, the county’s DPW commissioner.
Other resiliency measures implemented in this project include:
- Installation of new boat ramp and abutment above high water level;
- Sloping of roadway to the new boat ramp; and
- Regrading remaining portion of roadway.
