Cameron County officials inaugurated South Padre’s first public boat ramp in over 30 years yesterday. The ramp located at 1705 Laguna Boulevard is called Marisol (Laguna Madre) Boat Ramp. According to the city’s Shoreline Director Kristina Boburka, “another bayside access is huge” because the city is constantly marked by fishing tournaments.

The $3.2 million dollar project includes truck and trailer parking (13 parking spaces total, one ADA spot), fish cleaning station and an accessible loading and attendant dock.

South Padre Island’s two other public bayside boat ramps (on Polaris Street and West Palm Street) don’t have designated boat-side parking so this is a substantial addition to the city’s boating infrastructure.

The idea for the Marisol ramp began floating around 2014 when the city put in a funding request through the RESTORE Act. Over time, the city received $2.4 million from the U.S. Department of Treasury. $139,000 from Texas Parks and Wildlife, and $769,000 from the city.

We haven’t had a new public ramp in 30 years, so this is awesome and credit to the city for pulling the $2.5 million out of the $3.2 million dollars from federal and state governments.