Point rock wall complete

A SECOND upgrade of a Portarlington boat ramp has finished, which authorities hope will reduce sea grass build up at the launching facility.

Better Boating Victoria (BBV) has built a new rock groyne to the west of the ramp as it wrapped up the Point Richards Boat ramp revamp in time for the peak summer season.

BBV, alongside Bellarine Bayside Foreshore Committee of Management, constructed the groyne in a bid to deflect more sea grass to the north of the boat ramp to limit how often the area was closed for removal.

The Point Richards ramp has been highly susceptible to sea grass build up in recent years, with the ocean plants becoming more abundant in the northern part of Corio Bay and likely to shift towards Portarlington during northerly storm events.

Authorities anticipate that some dredging will still be required on occasions, though far less often, with a platfrom at the end of the groyne designed to host a long-reach excavator when needed.

“The Point Richards boating facility has been upgraded thanks to the State Government’s unprecedented investment in boating in Victoria,” BBV stated.

“Stage two works are complete, with a new rock groyne constructed to minimise the impact of seagrass at the ramp and make maintenance dredging easier.

“A new navigation channel has also been marked by floating buoys and piles to guide boaters through the channel which will run in an east-west direction.”

The latest upgrades build on a stage one revamp finished last year, which included an upgrade to the overflow car park to create an additional 50 car and trailer spaces.