The Town of Amherstburg has been informed that funding will be made available to finally clean up and demolish the former Boblo Island dock.
Amherstburg Councillor Linden Crain says the town received word Tuesday from the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans that funding has been secured to begin the contract work to remove the dock.
"It's in poor shape. It's going to cause some safety concerns for people on the waterways. This is great news all around, and we're excited to see this dock secured and taken down in order to improve the safety of the community," he says.
The DFO owns the dock on the Detroit River along Front Road South, which has fallen into a state of disrepair and is in danger of collapsing into the river.
Since 2016, the town has been asking the federal government to take action to remove the structure, citing its condition and the potential safety hazard to boats and commercial shipping on the Detroit River if it collapsed into the water.
Crain says they hope it will be removed by next year.
"We've been told the overall deconstruction package has been submitted to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans contracting authority," he says. "They're just waiting to receive confirmation of tending timelines. Hopefully it will be removed before the end of the fiscal year, March 2025."
The Boblo Island dock once served ferry passenger service heading to and from the former Boblo Island amusement park.