WEST BAY — Construction on the controversial Crooked Creek boat ramp has been hiccup-free since it started at the end of November, county officials say.
For about a year, the Bay County Commission has faced opposition over the boat ramp from activists who said it would ruin the creek. The group, Friends of Crooked Creek, feared it would cost at least twice as much as projected and suspected Native American artifacts would be unearthed on the site, shutting down construction.
But more than a month since Inland Construction & Equipment Inc. broke ground off State 388 west of the airport, the dire prophecies haven’t materialized.
“There’s no validity to (those assertions) whatsoever,” said Sam Stone, general manager at the Panama City firm.
Inland’s low bid of $377,468, which won the contract, was under the amount budgeted for that portion of the work, which includes a concrete ramp, a wooden dock, drainage ponds, bank reinforcement and sodding.
The county did the design work. It also will build a parking lot, walkway, pilings and fishing pier at a roughly estimated cost of $75,000 or less, said spokeswoman Valerie Sale. That falls well below the Friends of Crooked Creek’s prediction and closely aligns with the county’s cost projection of $475,000 last winter.
Still, the contractor could incur cost overruns that would be passed on to the county, but the firm’s general manager was adamant that wouldn’t happen.
“I don’t see any potential for any change orders on the project,” Stone said, adding, “It’s a cut-and-dry job.”
Stone’s team was on the job Tuesday, despite the bitter cold, and though such extreme weather has an impact, the job is on schedule and on budget.
“The county’s getting what they wanted and what they’re paying for, and there’s not any problems on the job. It’s going very smooth as planned,” Stone said.
So far the site has been cleared for the work and now the contractor is moving dirt, trying to get the grade right for the ramp, said Josee Cyr, an engineer with the county. The contract work should finish by the end of February and the county-constructed parking lot should be done by the end of March.
The ramp will replace a rutted-up unofficial boat access that sits just off State 388.
“I think it will be much safer and a lot better for everybody,” Cyr said.
Meanwhile, the Friends of Crooked Creek have gone silent, ceasing communication with the county and no longer showing up at board meetings. Requests for comment from the group went unreturned.
Commissioner Mike Thomas, who locked horns with the activists in some meetings, is pleased with the project’s progress. He led the effort on the board to make the boat ramp a reality.
“Several people have noticed (the construction), seeing it from the road, and they’ve been talking to me about how excited they are about it and that they’re looking forward to using it,” he said via email. “I’m looking forward to using it this year. My family and I love Crooked Creek, and we will enjoy a better access point to it.”