Home » NGPC News » Merritt Reservoir SRA Boat Launch Facility Improvements Begin

Merritt Reservoir SRA Boat Launch Facility Improvements Begin

LINCOLN – Work has begun on improvements to the Main Landing boat launch facility at Merritt Reservoir State Recreation Area (SRA).

Visitors will find construction equipment entering the Main Landing boat launch and Willow Cove Campground areas over the next several months. A new concrete ramp, boat dock and breakwaters will be built this summer and fall as water levels recede. In preparation for that construction, the delivery of rock rip-rap has started.

The new boat ramp will be built just to the south of the existing one. Once completed, it will provide boater and angler access at that location for a longer duration during the summer irrigation months. The original boat ramp was built in the 1960s and often went out of service by the first part of July.

A new breakwater is planned near the Willow Cove Campground area to the southwest of the new ramp. The breakwater will provide protection from southwest winds and slow sand from being deposited around the ramp. This breakwater also will provide some bank angler fishing access.

The project is being accomplished by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation. Funding has been provided by Game and Parks’ Aquatic Habitat and Angler Access programs, capital development maintenance funds, and U.S. Coast Guard boating safety funds.

For more information on the project, call Zac Brashears at 402-376-8080 or Steve Satra at 402-471-5446.

Merritt Reservoir SRA is located 26 miles southwest of Valentine in Cherry County. A park entry permit is required of each vehicle entering the park.

About Jerry Kane

Jerry Kane is the news manager with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. He can be contacted at jerry.kane@nebraska.gov or 402-471-5008.

Check Also

Standing Bear Lake to be chemically renovated

Standing Bear Lake in Omaha will be chemically renovated April 11, weather pending, to remove …