HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Boaters on the Alafia River will have a new channel to navigate this weekend.

What You Need To Know

  • Hillsborough County is installing a new navigation channel in the Alafia River near the Williams Park boat ramp and the U.S. 41 bridge

  • The new channel will keep boats from anchoring in the way of passing boats

  • Many derelict boats were recently removed as part of the project

The county is installing the new channel near the Williams Park boat ramp and the U.S. 41 bridge.

The idea of the new 650-foot long by 150-foot wide channel is to keep boats from anchoring in the main waterway.

“This used to be dodge city as far as where everyone anchored their boats,” said AJ Matthews, who is a safety specialist with Hillsborough County’s Marine Safety Division. “Boats would anchor willy-nilly. And the boaters that use this waterway would constantly have to snake their way between boats that were too close to each other.”

Recently, his unit put the owners of derelict boats in the lower Alafia River on notice to get their boats removed, since they were getting in the way of other boaters. Many owners complied through some damaged boats still remain. 

The new channel will keep those boats from coming back. Without the channel, there are no regulations to keep boat owners from anchoring in the way of other boats.

“It’s going to make Williams Park boat ramp more attractive for people to use. You eliminate the dangers associated with having to snake through a maze of anchored boats,” Matthews said.

Construction involves the installation of nine pilings with navigation markings. It’s expected to be done by Friday evening.