HARLINGEN — A popular boat ramp and fishing area on State Highway 48 between Brownsville and Port Isabel will be closed temporarily for maintenance, the Cameron County Parks and Recreation Department says.
The Jaime J. Zapata Memorial Boat Ramp which straddles a cut between the Brownsville Ship Channel and San Martin Lake will be shut down Feb. 6 and reopen the next day, the parks department says.
The shutdown will be used for various improvements to the parking area, the kayak launch area and fixing the wooden planks near the boat launch site.
Signs and barricades will be placed at the fishing spot notifying the public of the closure.
The county parks department has improved the Zapata boat launch and fishing area in recent years by installing a new handicapped-accessible dock, paving the parking lot and sidewalks and adding solar lighting.
A lighted fishing pier and the kayak launch area also were added.
County Parks Director Joe E. Vega says boaters planning to launch in the area on Feb. 6 should use alternate boat ramps at the Pompano Street Public Boat Ramp or the Palm Street Public Boat Ramp, both on South Padre Island.
