Visiting the Ohio River at the Center Street boat landing will become safer this fall because of improvements being made to the floodgate entrance.

The single-lane entrance will be reconfigured to a two-lane entrance that will allow more visibility and space when crossing the railroad tracks. Signs, lights and curbs also will be added.

Work on the three-month project will begin in September. Depending on the availability of asphalt, the final paving may not be completed until spring, although the entrance would still be usable, city engineer Joe McCallister said.

The crossing has been a problem for a while and has caused several deaths in the last few years, McCallister said.

"It will definitely make access to the park safer, especially for people with boat trailers," he said.

Right now, the plans are being reviewed by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Watercraft, the Army Corps of Engineers and Norfolk and Southern Railroad.

McCallister is optimistic that all agencies will approve the plans within the next few weeks. The renovations have been in planning for nearly three years.

Funding for the $230,000 project was provided by the Huntington-Ironton Empowerment Zone and ODNR's Waterway Safety Fund.

McCallister said the railroad has been extremely cooperative and he is surprised they haven't wanted to close the entrance sooner.

"It is definitely a problem," he said. "I have fought for it since I came here."

The project will be bid separately for a complete closure of the entrance and also as a one-way traffic closure. Regardless, access from Second Street and Union will be opened. Also, part of the floodwall will be removed and the gate structure will be modernized from wooden to aluminum.

Also in September, the downtown streetscape project will resume with sidewalks and curbs being repaired and ornamental lighting being added.

The primary areas targeted for improvement are between Fourth and Second streets and Adams and Vernon streets. It will make downtown look nicer and the sidewalks will be safer to walk on, McCallister said.

"The idea is it promotes economic development," he said. Michael Caldwell/The Ironton Tribune