County accepts $439K construction bid to rebuild Point Breeze boat launch

Bid also accepted to replace bridge in Murray on Transit Road

Photo by Tom Rivers: The Point Breeze boat launch will be rebuilt after Labor Day and will function better during times of high waters on Lake Ontario.

POINT BREEZE – The boat launch at Point Breeze will be rebuilt this fall with a new ramp, two boat launches and floating docks.

The Orleans County Legislature last week accepted the construction bid of $439,850 from CP Ward Inc. of Scottsville, the low bidder on the project. Mark Cerrone Inc. of Niagara Falls also bid on the project at a price of $553,125.

The project is part of $300 million funded through the state through the Lake Ontario Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative (REDI). Those projects are 95 percent funded through REDI with the local municipality paying 5 percent.

They are designed to be more resilient in times of high Lake Ontario water levels and other extreme weather. Currently, when the lake levels are high, the boat launch is useless for boaters because their vehicles flood out trying to launch a boat.

The boat launch will remain open until the day after Labor Day to lessen the impact on boaters during the busier summer season, said John Papponetti, the county’s Department of Public Works superintendent. The construction should be done in November.

Rendering courtesy of Lake Ontario Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative: The rebuilt boat launch will have floating walkways that tie into the concrete ramp.

CP Ward will likely need to set up a coffer dam and pump out water during construction to work on the project. The launch will be regraded and concrete poured for the new ramps and docks.

The project includes floatable walkways which will tie into a concrete ramp. The current concrete ramp will be removed and a new one put in that will be pulled farther back on land. The project also includes milling and paving the driveway and parking lot.

The Legislature last week also accepted a bid for $839,739 to replace the bridge on Transit Road in Murray over the west branch of Sandy Creek.

Union Concrete and Construction Corp. of West Seneca is the low bidder on the project, which is 95 percent funded by the state through the Bridge NY program. The county cost will be $41,986.

The county also expects to soon seek bids on another REDI project – installing about 1,500 feet of rocks along Lakeshore Road in Carlton to protect the road from further erosion. The Lakeshore Road project will cost an estimated $2 million. The county will hire a contractor to re-establish the shoreline, which was eroded from the high water levels in 2017 and 2019.

Big rocks will be brought in for about 1,500 feet of the shoreline by the road, east of Route 98. The project also includes drainage improvements along the road.