KENAI — Parks officials are looking to begin up to $2.5 million in upgrades for a popular boat launch and bank fishing area just outside Sterling on the Kenai Peninsula.
The work on Bing’s Landing includes adding a parking lot, an entrance road, pedestrian trails, as well as walkways and stairs for access to the river, The Peninsula Clarion reported.
The Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation started planning the renovations in response to concerns from nearby residents about traffic and visitors parking on side roads, said Jack Blackwell, superintendent for the division in Soldotna and Prince William Sound.
“The purpose of the project is to provide more parking for folks who want to access the back line fishing area on the river,” Blackwell said. “It’s in an effort to reduce some of the conflict from folks who were previously parking along Rapids Avenue in the subdivision area.”
Adding walkways and stairs would help protect the habitat while not limiting access to the fishery, said Rys Miranda, the section chief for the Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation’s Design and Construction office.
“Part of that goal is (enhanced) river access, which will come out of an elevated walkway,” Miranda said. “People can still access the river without trampling the vegetation.”
Part of the construction work will also focus on restoring and stabilizing the landing’s bluff, Miranda said.
“Our plan is to stabilize that area to prevent further erosion,” Miranda said. “(We will) revegetate it, stabilize it and to some degree flatten the slope a little bit.”
Officials estimate the cost of the project at anywhere from $1 million to $2.5 million. Funding is being provided by the state and grants from the Alaska Sustainable Salmon Fund and a federal spruce bark beetle mitigation fund, Miranda said.
Bidding on the project opens March 29. Miranda said the goal is to have the work completed by August.
