The new public boat launch on the Androscoggin River next to Route 2 in Rumford is finished and ready for use. It is specifically angled to go with the flow of the current to make launches easier. Bruce Farrin/Rumford Falls Times
RUMFORD — The new town boat launch on Route 2 next to the Androscoggin River is complete.
Town Manager Stacy Carter told selectmen via zoom last week that the engineer and code enforcement officer would be “looking things over to make sure it’s done to spec.”
Carter said he checked the status of the launch beyond the McDonald’s restaurant almost daily as the project was underway. “Bedard Excavation did a very good job. I think it’s going to bring a lot of usage to the river here in the future. There’s a huge parking area for boats and trailers, and a picnic area. That’s a project that was done very well.”
Selectman Peter Chase said, “Now that the boat launch is done, and a lot of work put in up there, can we make sure to give police Chief (Tony) Milligan a heads-up to have guys patrol that area regularly? Usually that stuff gets vandalized quickly and I’d just like to that they’re patrolling that regularly.”
The project involved installing a new 20-foot precast concrete plank launch ramp, concrete abutment with lay-down planks, and parking lot construction.
Carter said the location is advantageous over the previous launch.
“With the other one, you’re backing against the current,” he said. “Launching and reloading a boat onto a trailer, you’re always fighting the current. Whereas the new one is angled the opposite way, with the current, which will make it a lot easier to unload and to load.”
Bedard Excavation of West Paris bid $187,000 for the work, which began Sept. 7.
Total cost is $207,661, with the state contributing $129,050, plus planks and material for the ramp. Additional costs include work by Pine Tree Engineering and archaeological surveying work by Northeast Archaeological Research Center in Farmington.
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