Posted on August 17, 2021
CAPE CARTERET — Boaters in Cape Carteret should soon have easier and safer access to the deep waters of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway in Bogue Sound.
Town Commissioner Steve Martin, speaking during the board of commissioners’ monthly meeting Monday in town hall and virtually on GoToMeeting, said the project to dredge the channel that leads into Bogue Sound from the municipal boat ramp at the end of Manatee Street is going well.
“Hopefully it will be complBete in a couple of weeks,” he said.
Combined with work by the county earlier this year to dredge Old Ferry Channel between Cape Carteret and Emerald Isle, and Deer Creek and its tributaries in town, boaters should have no trouble getting around in the area waters.
The town board in June awarded the contract to dredge the boat ramp channel to T.D. Eure Marine Construction of Beaufort for $33,150, and the project involves removal of up to 975 cubic yards of material.
The state, working with the Carteret County Shore Protection Office and the town, provided a $22,100 grant to pay for two-thirds of the cost. The money came from the Shallow Draft Navigation Channel Dredging and Aquatic Weed Fund. Cape Carteret’s share of the cost will be $5,525, which is half of the local match.
Cape Carteret residents pay a $100 fee to get unlimited use of the ramp, which is open year-round. Commissioners agreed to increase the fee during a budget work session earlier this spring. The fee for residents of nearby Bogue, Cedar Point and Peletier is $250, and the fee for all others is $350. The town sold more than 500 permits in fiscal 2020-21.
Zach Steffey, Cape Carteret town manager, also told commissioners Monday the public works department has done a great job improving Old Ferry Channel Park, which is adjacent to Bogue Sound and a canal at the end of Lejeune Drive.
Department workers have put in a new vinyl fence and painted the building on the property, which once served customers who caught the ferry there to go to Emerald Isle, prior to the construction of the high-rise bridge from the mainland to Emerald Isle.
The town also paid $23,000 to put in a new bulkhead at the park to improve safety and will put in a park sign, a rules sign, a charcoal grill and a dog waste station.
Cape Carteret bought the 15,000-square-foot strip of land earlier this year for $100,000. The park is supposed to primarily serve Bayshore Park residents, but will be open to anyone who wants to use it.
Also during the meeting Monday night, commissioners decided not to extend the size of the no-wake zone for boats in Bogue Sound and Deer Creek, but agreed to move a buoy to better delineate the area.
