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  • It will take about four more weeks to finish the boat ramp being installed at Thompson Park in Barbourville. The ramp will allow access to the Cumberland River. Photo by Becky Manley

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September 3, 2010

Boat ramp being installed at Thompson Park

TheTimesTribune.com, Corbin, KY

CORBIN — By Becky Manley / Staff Writer

Campers, paddlers and local residents could someday enjoy organized canoe and boat trips launched from a boat ramp currently being installed at Thompson Park in Barbourville.

The basic form of the drive leading to and from the Cumberland River has been roughed out in large stones, as has the parking area that will be used by boaters.

Construction on the boat ramp should be completed within about a month, according to Walt Redmon, construction and maintenance branch manager for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife.

The total project cost is about $120,000, with the state paying 75 percent of that amount with a federal grant funded by taxes on fishing supplies like boats, tackle and fuel, Redmon said. The City of Barbourville will pay the rest, which Mayor David Thompson said could be concrete and finish work.

Once the ramp is completed, the state will lease it to the City of Barbourville for 25 years, Redmon said. That lease will include a maintenance agreement that stipulates that the city will be responsible for general maintenance like mowing and trash pickup.

The ramp is the first the state has built in Knox County, Redmon said.

In the future, Thompson said organized boat trips could launch from the park’s ramp.

Redmon said the state is in the initial planning stages for two boat ramps in Whitley County, both along the Cumberland River and one at Croley Bend in Williamsburg.

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