(Past Post) Breaking News – From the HCA President (John T.):
The boat ramp to Highlands Lake will be closed beginning Wednesday July 17th until further notice for installation of the NEW ONE!
No one is allowed to access the water via that location, park or drive into that lot area until it is reopened.
HUGE THANK YOU to Fred, Rick, and the Lakes & Trails Committee for their hard work on this! Sam King at ACS was also a huge asset on this one getting across the finish line.
Due to steepness and erosion issues associated with the current ramp, it will become a “boat slide”.
Work is planned to begin on Monday, July 22nd.
Example of a Boat Slide (Powhatan State Park).
Excerpt from the Highlands Lakes & Trails Committee Report presented at the April 18, 2024, HCA Board Meeting:
Highlands Lake Boat Access Renovation
At the January Board Meeting, the Committee presented their boat slide option for the renovation
of the existing access site off Highland Glen Drive; the Board agreed with this concept and
requested Sam King move this project forward. The Committee was able to contact the Capital
Programs staff at the VA Department of Wildlife Resources and obtain detailed engineer drawings
and AutoCad files for a boat slide and two suggested contractors that they recommended for this
kind of project in Chesterfield County. This information was forwarded to Sam for his use.
Committee members also met on-site two times with Sam, Jim Hale, and two potential contractors
to discuss what we had in mind as far as a boat slide construction project, so that they could come
back with their draft scope of work and cost estimate documents. Sam has received proposal
(scope/cost) responses from both contractors, and more information (including revised proposals)
was requested and received from each contractor, and the Committee and Sam reviewed and
evaluated all documents to make a recommendation to the Board.
The Committee does recommend the Board have Sam King proceed with contracting construction
of the boat slide with Harbor Dredge and Dock [omitted], according to their 4/2/24
revised proposal. We know the cost is more than any of us expected but there are several factors
and considerations that lead us to this recommendation:
- Material and labor costs have gone up significantly over the last few years, particularly labor costs.
- The first proposal from Harbor Dredge [omitted], but after discussions with the Committee and the expressed need to lower cost, if possible, Harbor Dredge did come back with a revised proposal [omitted].
- This revised proposal will still result in construction of a quality, low maintenance boat slide that should meet the Community’s small boat access needs for decades to come.
- The Committee feels that we cannot further reduce the scope or materials, to get an even lower cost, without completely abandoning the boat slide option and starting back at square one to try and come up with a different approach (at this point we do not have anything in mind, so it would really be starting over).
The Committee did ask Harbor Dredge when they could possibly start on this project if contracted
toward the end of April and they said it will take as much as 60 days to get the required permits,
so they would be looking at a mid-summer start date (this delay would be true for all potential
contractors).
Again, the Committee recommends the Board have ACS West contract with Harbor Dredge &
Dock to construct a boat slide at the existing Highland Lake boat access site, according to Harbor
Dredge’s 4/2/24 revised proposal [omitted].