Marina project is in full swing - Mayor Matt Mohrfeld

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Driving by the river on the east end of town you will immediately notice a hive of activity at Riverview Park. Construction vehicles can be seen busily moving and hauling copious amounts of dirt to improve our riverfront experience. So how did all of this start and what timeline can Fort Madison residents expect?

The Fort Madison Marina project began as a preliminary discussion at City Hall about what is important to our community. Embracing the spectacular views of the Mississippi and being a river community could not be swept to the wayside.  So City leaders made a commitment to invest in Fort Madison’s future and the work began.

We can expect to see several milestones in the months to come.  Earthwork is currently being completed to raise the park to the 500-year flood plain level. Although mother nature can always throw a curve, we anticipate this will mitigate most of anticipated future damage.

MOHRFELD

A basin is currently being constructed in the Marina to hold the dredge material that will be pulled from the marina.  Dredging will soon begin to remove the excess amounts of silt from the marina.  This portion of the project should move rather quickly and hopefully completed before freezing.   In the meantime, plans are underway for the first three docks that have been ordered and those should be be constructed in the spring/summer of 2022.

The Jetty, located at the southern most portion of the project is currently being removed for construction of the new jetty.  The new jetty will be built up to reduce the amount of future silting and to include a walking path.  The marina wall, located on the northern portion of the marina, is being replaced and will also include a portion of the walking path. Both of these items should be substantially completed by spring of 2022.

One of the most anticipated portions of this project is the new restaurant and hospitality center.  The construction on this multi-function structure will begin in spring of 2022. It will contain a restaurant, meeting center, convenience store and other amenities appealing to the boating and community as a whole.

Some of the final details of the project will include improvement to the parking lot and access road. The project will take some time to fully see the vision. However, the Fort Madison community will be rewarded for its patience with a high quality attraction that will bring visitors from the region and river community.

Matt Mohrfeld is Mayor of Fort Madison and is submitting this as a guest editorial

editorial, fort madison, guest author, marina, Matt Mohrfeld, Mayor, opinion, Pen City Current

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