Whitsunday Regional Council have advised of a plan to install a ramp at Muddy Puddle near the Shute Harbour logistics terminal.
The news comes after residents voiced their frustration about the length of time the boat ramp would be shut to the public during the Shute Harbour restoration project.
Muddy Puddle was offered as an alternate mooring point, however resident Trevor Yuksan said it would not be a viable option for him due to inconsistent tides and the need for a four-wheel drive to safely access the area.
Disaster Recovery project director Trevor Williams said the relevant authorities had told council to submit an application seeking installation of a flexi-mat temporary ramp near Muddy Puddle.
“As a direct result of lengthy talks over recent months to find a temporary solution for boaties we have today been advised by the relevant authorities to submit an application seeking installation of a flex-mat temporary ramp near Muddy Puddle,” he said.
“The temporary ramp is outside the major construction zone and would provide an option for boaties to launch at Shute Harbour subject to the normal tidal considerations.
“The ramp will be 20 metres long and four metres wide and would provide the public with improved access at higher tides, with this site being used by boaties for the past 40 years.
“Once approval has been given by the Department of Environment and Science it will take less than a week to install the temporary flexi-mat boat ramp.
“Council will remove the flexi-mat at the completion of the project, when the Shute Harbour Boat ramp is reopened.”
However, Mr Yuksan was concerned the flexi-mat would not effectively provide access during high tide and would only work as a short-term solution.
“The temporary ramp isn’t an all-tide ramp, you need certain tides to launch but once it’s all boggy you can’t access your tender,” he said.
Mr Yuksan was also concerned about how long the approval would take as he and other boaties had no access.
“Until they get in and get that done they need to re-open the one in place at Shute Harbour,” he said.
Source: Whitsunday Times.
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