Maritime Safety Queensland to undertake boat ramp improvement works at Great Sandy Marine Park

Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ) will utilise a portion of the $6 million announced by the Queensland Government’s Department of Environment, Science and Innovation (Marine Parks) for improvements to boating infrastructure in the Great Sandy Marine Park, which was re-zoned to upgrade the Poona Boat Ramp facility.

MSQ said the carefully undertaken Poona Boat Ramp detailed planning and design phase has resulted in a design best suited to local conditions.

The existing one-lane facility will be widened to two lanes, with an additional support lane for a new floating walkway to be located on the northern side of the ramp to protect users from predominant north-easterly waves.

Dredging work will be undertaken in the approaches to the boat ramp in order to achieve (near) all-tide access. This dredged material will be placed as beach nourishment in an area to the north of the boat ramp.

Landside works will meanwhile widen the landward approach to the boat ramp to complement the existing carpark area.

On-site works are planned to commence in September and are expected to take around four months to complete, weather and site conditions permitting.

In the best interests of public safety and efficiency for the contractor, the facility will be closed from the start of works for up to 10 weeks, subject to weather and other conditions.

The ramp is expected to reopen by the Christmas holiday season. The full works package is anticipated to be completed by January 2026.