A new exit from the boat launch below Kinzua Dam is finished and open for use.

Whether out for some paddling on the Allegheny River or trying to catch a glimpse of some local wildlife, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Kinzua Dam has some improvements for people looking for recreation.

Resource Manager Doug Helman said making improvements to the boat launch at Big Bend has been on the Corps’ wish list for 10 years.

The road to the boat ramp serviced both inbound and outbound traffic.

“Even trying to get two vehicles on there at the same time was a challenge,” Helman said. On busy weekends, “I’ve seen it lined up to the road.”

Construction started in June and was essentially completed in August.

The work has been inspected and, as of Monday, there is an outlet road — about 400-feet long — to provide for traffic to flow in a single direction.

“It will get some of the pressure off of people coming in and out,” he said.

Visitors looking to launch a boat at the tailwaters of Kinzua Dam will approach as they would have previously. But, they will exit along the brand-new roadway that heads upstream and uphill to the parking area.

The project was combined with handicapped parking spaces near the viewing platform on the Riverside Watchable Wildlife Trail.

The cost of the combined project was $316,000, Helman said.

Those dollars were not initially earmarked for that project.

“It was a stroke of luck,” he said.

The water building at the western end of the property had to be updated.

The Corps of Engineers began putting together a package for that project.

“We needed it,” Helman said. “We did it in-house.”

The funding came through after the water building was already paid for.

“We moved the funding” to the ramp and parking area, he said.