After major construction last year, Pine Street Landing, on the Medomak River in Waldoboro, was recently spruced up with the addition of a float, flower planters, and picnic tables.
Final paving is scheduled for the fall, according to Town Manager Julie Keizer.
Keizer described the landing as a key location for both commercial and recreational access to the river.
“It’s important for the working waterfront in town,” she said.
Waldoboro Public Works Director John Daigle said the town crew worked at the landing in June, adding riprap and installing the float.
He said the crew also assisted with the addition of stones to the center and edges of the landing’s parking lots.
Keizer said the replacement of the boat ramp and bulkhead were prompted by the condition of both prior to the project.
“The bulkhead and ramp were in really bad shape when this all got started,” she said.
The majority of work at the landing took place in 2018 and was done by Farley & Son Landscaping, of Rockport, a contractor that submitted the low bid of $264,000 for the project.
Work at the landing included the construction of a new boat ramp and the replacement and lowering of the bulkhead by about 2 feet.
Keizer said the lower height of the bulkhead did not prove to be an issue during the winter, handling the ice on the river without a problem.
“I think it performed better than expected over the winter,” she said.
Keizer said the changes at the landing were meant to create a more user-friendly area.
“I think it is supposed to be a nice, more user-friendly bulkhead. The whole goal was to make the bulkhead and ramp more accessible and I think we accomplished that with this project,” Keizer said.
Keizer said she is aware of concerns in the community about the appearance of the landing and said she hopes the recent improvements address those concerns.
The initial plans for the landing project included the acquisition of an abutting property, but the deal fell through, impacting grant funding and prompting the town to revisit the size and scope of the project.
Steve Warren, vice president of the Waldoboro Community Garden Club, said students from nearby Miller School recently visited the landing and helped pick a location for a pink magnolia in honor of former teacher Jean Lawrence, the current president of the Waldoborough Historical Society.
The sixth graders came to the landing June 12 for a presentation by the garden club, led by Warren and Kaitlin Puchalski, discussing changes to the landing and future plans for the location.
