Construction of an Improved Dock Facility at Rock Harbor, Isle Royale National Park

Project Location: Work will be accomplished on the island containing Isle Royale National Park, located in Lake Superior. Visitors traveling to Isle Royale must arrive by boat or seaplane. The Park’s Mainland Headquarters located at 800 E. Lakeshore Dr., Houghton, Michigan, 49931. Houghton is located in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It is 200 miles north of Green Bay, Wisconsin, 400 miles north of Chicago, Illinois, and 250 miles west of the Mackinac Bridge. Houghton is located off US-41 at the base of the Keweenaw Peninsula. The Park’s Mainland Headquarters provides a Ferry service aboard the Ranger III, with a travel time of 6 hours one way. Rock Harbor is located some 55 miles from Copper Harbor, that's the shortest distance for any transportation service from Michigan. The Queen IV makes the daily crossing in just over 3 hours, the shortest crossing time to the one developed area of the island, the Rock Harbor Entrance, of any ferry service from either Michigan or Minnesota. Cell phone service is not reliable on Isle Royale National Park - do not depend on it for your trip. Occasionally you may pick up a signal if you are on a high ridge - be aware that this may be a Canadian tower, and additional fees through your cell phone carrier may apply. There is no Wi-Fi service available to visitors in the park. The island consists of a road-less backcountry- use of wheeled vehicles is prohibited. Project Description: The Rock Harbor Ferry Dock on Isle Royale provides access to National Park Service (NPS) employees and visitors via ferry and seaplane. The dock is 210 feet long by 31 feet wide and can become congested from visitors and cargo loading and offloading. The largest ship currently using the dock is the Ranger III operated by the NPS out of Houghton, Michigan. The draft of the Ranger III brings the hull of the ship to, or near, the lake bottom at the dock. Dredging has been performed in the past to accommodate the draft of the Ranger III. Widening of the dock has been proposed to provide the following benefits, Additional dock platform space would relieve congestion around the ferry’s cargo operations area and improve safety of departing and/or boarding passengers. The dock platform would be extended toward the deeper water. The Rock Harbor ferry dock consists of a five stone-filled timber crib structures with a concrete cap with approximate plan dimensions of 30 feet by 40 feet. The crib structures are framed with 12-inch by 12-inch, 8-foot by 12-foot timbers and 2-inch by 12-inch timber sheathing. The base and top of the crib structures have multiple rows of longitudinal 12-inch by 12-inch timbers stacked atop each other. The framing between the base and top alternates from longitudinal to transverse pieces and are secured by 7/8-inch diameter bolts with washers. There is a 30-inch tall by ¼-inch thick steel plate at the water line on the east, west and south sides secured to the dock with lag bolts. The plate is presumably in place for ice protection. The crib structures are capped by an 8-inch concrete cap bordered by 8-inch by 8-inch timbers. The bottom of the south side of the dock appears to have had approximately two feet deep of 4-inch to 12-inch stone placed for scour protection. The north side of the dock has an additional walkway supported by metal brackets just above the water line for access to small boats. The onsite contractor shall be prepared to be fully self-sufficient in the performance of this work. The Contractor shall plan for the work to be conducted during the Park’s off-season when no on-island services will be available. Contractor shall provide all labor, tools, transportation requirements, support services and installation consumables required to successfully install the new Rock Harbor Dock and accessories, according to the above requirements. The estimated construction duration for the repairs and expansion of the Rock Harbor dock at Isle Royale National Park is 120 days.

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Waterway and Marine Construction, Common Work Results for Waterway and Marine Construction, Waterway and Marine Construction and Equipment, Marine Construction and Equipment.