Merrick State park is a 322-acre park located along the Mississippi River just north of Fountain City, Wisconsin and bordered by the National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. The Park is famous for its scenic island camping spots and offers great hiking, fishing, and boating.

JSD provided site survey and civil engineering services for the design and construction of an expanded and improved upper boat launch at the park. The expansion started with a topographic and utility survey of the area. The scope for the site design included site planning, ADA accessibility improvements, grading, drainage, paving, pedestrian walkways, boat launch details and seeding/restoration.

Excitingly, additional truck/trailer parking stalls were added along with replacement of the boat ramp and pier, and a shift and replacement of the adjacent park access area to allow for traffic flow to these new areas. JSD’s team revised traffic circulation patterns and improved turn radii to better serve truck/trailer usage. In addition, the new parking area was designed to include site drainage, signage, protective bollards, pavement marking and landscaping.

Improvements were also made on the lower boat launch of the park including replacement of the boat ramp and limited pavement replacement necessary to construct the new boat ramp. The lower boat launch was designed to provide access for smaller watercraft. The project included the necessary pavement and site improvements to allow for vehicle movement into and out of the boat launch areas, as well as a reconfigured parking design for the upper boat launch.

Lastly, the stormwater management plan included the grading and erosion control plan, utility plan, details, supporting calculations, figures and exhibits, and soils information to demonstrate the design meets applicable stormwater requirements.