TOWER— Funding for the proposed new boat launch and trailhead at Tower’s harbor has survived its toughest test in the Legislature. The $600,000 grant request remained intact as the House approved its list of projects for funding from the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund earlier this month.

“They took a lot of projects out, but Tower’s survived,” said District 3A Rep. Rob Ecklund, who serves on the Environment and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee and represents Tower.

Assuming the bill advances to law, as is now likely, it will provide funding for a new boat launch about three hundred feet north of the Hwy. 169 bridge over the harbor, on the northeast side of the East Two River. The project includes the boat ramp and paved parking for 24 vehicles and trailers as well as a paved extension of Tower’s Main Street that will connect to the launch site. But the site is expected to serve more than just boaters and will include a trailhead kiosk with information and maps for bikers, hikers, and wildlife watchers, as well as area attractions.

The project also includes funds for restoration of wetland habitat, which the city agreed to undertake as part of a wetland permit application approved by the Department of Natural Resources several years ago.

The funding, if approved, would be in addition to the $679,000 in state dollars allocated last year for a pedestrian and biking trail around the harbor and the east side of East Two River to connect to the Mesabi Trail. That project remains in the design phase, with construction expected to get underway in late summer or fall of 2017.

Work on the boat launch will take a bit longer. If approved, the money won’t be allocated until July 1 and it likely won’t be until the spring of 2019 that construction actually gets underway.