Crystal Lake
&
Watershed Association P.O. Box 89, Beulah, MI 49617
Phone: (231) 882-4001
FAX: (231) 882-7810 Email
Us
Mollineaux
Road Boat
Launch Photographs
November 2011 —
Paving Begins
Work crews from Rieth-Riley Co. apply
a top layer of asphalt to the Crystal Lake boat launch
area, adjacent to guard rails that will protect a section of the Betsie Valley
Trail.
Paving equipment begins working its
way up the hill from the
launch site to the parking area on Nov. 6, 2011.
August 2011 — Work
through the summer
Stairway
Workers are well along on the framing for the long stairway that will ascend the
hill between
the launch ramps on the Crystal Lake shoreline and the parking area 80 feet above.
The finished stairway will consist of composite decking on treated wood framing members,
atop steel pilings driven into the earth.
Sidewalk
Workers from Reith-Riley Construction on Aug. 25 put finishing touches on a section
of concrete sidewalk in the upper parking area. The large parking lots have been
excavated, leveled and layered with gravel. Paving will be scheduled for late summer
or fall.
Road Work
The main access road has been excavated down the hillside from the upper parking
area
to the launch ramps on the Crystal Lake shore. As of Aug. 25, crews were using
heavy equipment to install manholes and drain tiles to handle rainfall and storm
water.
Still to come on the hillside are additional fill material, concrete curbs, paving
and
revegetation. The contractor and state officials expect the work to be completed
this fall.
Launch Site
The actual site of the launch ramps, seen here from the location of the hillside
stairway, has
been cleared of trees and vegetation. As of Aug. 25, construction crews were still
working on
underground drainage structures. The Betsie Valley Trail has been left in place across
the site
temporarily to allow bicycle access and to act as a “dam” to prevent silt from reaching
Crystal Lake. The trail will soon be realigned across the back of the site. Dredging
of the
lake bottom to a depth of four feet is scheduled to begin the last full week of August.
November 2010
— Intersection paved
Mollineaux Road / M-115 Intersecion
Crews from Reith-Riley
Construction Co. paved the realigned intersection of Mollineaux Road
and M-115 on Nov. 2, 2010. The road should be reopened to traffic within a few days.
The new intersection is the first stage in construction of a new public boating access
site on Crystal Lake. The entrance to the new access site will be from Mollineaux
road.
The entire project is expected to be completed in the spring of 2011.
August 2010 — Construction
begins
Boat Launch — Mollineaux Road The Y-shaped intersection of Mollineaux Road and M-115 in Benzonia Township is
to be
rebuilt as part of the Michigan DNRE's Crystal Lake Boat Launch project. Mollineaux
(on the right
in this photo) will be curved around to create a right angle turn. Road construction
work is to
commence about Aug. 25, and will take up to four weeks. Mollineaux Road will be closed
at the
intersection for a portion of the time. Under the court agreement entered last spring,
the
contractor must complete work on the intersection before beginning construction of
the launch
itself. Until the road construction is done, activity on the interior of the site
will be limited to such
things as brush cutting, surveying, setting up silt fences, relocating power lines,
and other tasks
that are a necessary part of the road reconstruction.
Boat Launch — Clearing
Work has begun on construction of a state boat launch on the South Shore of Crystal
Lake.
On Aug. 17, crews started clearing brush at the site, near Mollineaux Road and M-115.
The
contractor expects to start soon on excavating the roadside at the intersection of
Mollineaux
Road and M-115.
Boat Launch — Betsie Valley Bike
Trail In this photo, riders pass the Crystal Lake Boat Launch site on the Betsie Valley
Trail. The
popular hiking and bicycling trail is to remain open during the construction period,
according
to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment. Trail users may
encounter
some delays in the fall, when excavation begins along the lake shore. As part of
the boat launch
project, a short section of the bike trail will be rebuilt as a boardwalk across
a wetland on the site.
Boat Launch — Crystal Lake Shoreline Changes will be coming soon to this quiet stretch of Crystal Lake shoreline.
Contractors for the
Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment have begun work on a major
new
boat launch that is expected to be completed on this site in the spring of 2011.
