A Baldwin County boat launch providing access to Weeks Bay and Mobile Bay soon will close for renovations, according to the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

ADCNR announced Tuesday that the Bay Watch Boat Ramp facility will completely close May 5. The entire site will be off limits to the public, including the boat ramp, kayak launch and the Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve Resource Center.

According to ADCNR, the project is designed to improve visitor parking at the ramp and resource center. The parking area will paved and marked “for visitors, boats and trailers and boat tie down areas,” and ADA-compliant parking will be created. The project is funded through ADCNR using Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA) funds. The ramp is expected to reopen in August.

“The Bay Watch parking area renovation is part of a series of boating access improvement projects currently in progress throughout the state,” said Chris Blankenship, ADCNR Commissioner. “Recent projects in south Alabama include improvements to the Mount Vernon Public Boat Ramp, Chocolatta Boat Ramp on the Causeway and the Billy Goat Hole Boat Ramp on Dauphin Island. We’re also working with Mobile County to build a new ramp at Cedar Point. These projects will provide our boaters and anglers with improved access to outdoor recreation for many decades.”

The Bay Watch ramp is just off U.S. 98 at the mouth of Fish River. Boats launched there have ready access to Bon Secour Bay and Mobile Bay. The nearby View Point Launch at the southern end of Baldwin 1, near the mouth of Weeks Bay, will remain open.