RIDGELAND, MS
Neel-Schaffer helps facilitate smoother boat launches at the ‘Rez’
Neel-Schaffer provided design and bidding services for the procurement and installation of a floating breakwater system to protect the Madison Landing Boat Launch facility from wave action that often makes launching recreational water craft difficult and hazardous.
Madison Landing is a recreational boat launch on the Ross Barnett Reservoir in Madison County, MS, that is operated by the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District. The $395,000 construction project, completed in Summer of 2018, provides two segments of floating concrete breakwater systems, totaling 263 feet in length, to protect the boat launch from wind-generated waves. The breakwater system is comprised of several sections of floating concrete sections connected together to form the longer segment. The sections are constructed of reinforced concrete surrounding a core made of expanded polystyrene floatation material.
The system is anchored by 12-inch steel piles driven into the soils of the lake bed. Navigation lights will help boaters locate the openings in the breakwater and avoid running into the floating units.
The project was made challenging by the fact that the boat launch and associated parking area needed to remain open to the public throughout construction. The Mississippi Department of Wildlife and Fisheries grant that provided the funds for construction required short deadlines for completion. Specialized coastal engineering expertise was required to analyze the wave/wind conditions that occur at the site. This project is the first of its kind on the Ross Barnett Reservoir.
