Courtesy Photo A pickup truck backs a boat into Long Lake on Thursday. Work will begin on building a boat launch at Long Lake Park Campground later this year.

ALPENA — A more-than-$700,000 project to replace and move the current boat launch at Long Lake Park Campground is slated to commence after Labor Day and could be completed close to when boaters are ready to put their boats in the lake next spring.

The project has been in the works since 2015. In the time since, Alpena County has secured hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant funding to make the project a reality.

Bob Adrian, who led the project during his time as an Alpena County commissioner and currently serves on the Alpena County Parks Commission, said the new boat launch — which will feature new docks and a new access road — will be constructed in the rear of the park, near the pavilion near the parking lot.

Adrian said the state requires the park to have a year-round in-ground septic restroom, but he hopes one day a nicer bathroom facility can be built closer to the new launch.

Because of the shallow water in the bay where the new launch will go, Adrian said some dredging is needed to increase the depth where the boats come and go.

Adrian said the move can help loosen traffic congestion where the current launch is now and make it safer for both boaters and campers who intermingle with each other.

“There are a lot of kids riding bikes while the trucks are putting their boats in and out of the water,’ he said. “It is a safety issue.”

According to Adrian, the county received a $242,000 Michigan Department of Natural Resources Waterway grant, a $133,000 Michigan Recreation Passport grant, and a Michigan Economic Development Corp. Enhancement Grant for $300,000 to help cover a large portion of the project’s cost.

Allocations from the county, the county Youth and Recreation Committee, the county Parks Commission, and private donations helped cover the county’s match.

At Tuesday’s Finance, Ways and Means Committee meeting, the committee voted to allow the Parks Commission to add an additional $50,000 in funds to the project for contingency funds, should it be needed.

Adrain said after the new launch is open, the shoreline where the current ramp is will have rip-rap lined in front of the waterfront to protect it from erosion. Rip-rap are large, loose stones used to form a foundation for a breakwater.

He said it is also possible that part of the park could be renovated to include more lakeside camping units in the future.