SABINE PASS, Texas — Local leaders are hoping a $2 million renovation project to the Sabine Pass boat ramps will revitalize the area.
The project, called Four Piers, will bring tourism to the area and help Sabine Pass earn the title of "National Fishing Destination".
Sabine Pass Port Authority Director Mark Viator says thousands of fisherman from across the region use these ramps every summer.
During hurricanes Ike and Rita the three boat ramp's concrete slabs were severely damaged. When they were under reconstruction it caused many Southeast Texans to find new fishing spots.
"I tried to go there with my boat one time, I couldn't dock. I saw the barricades so I had to go to Chicken Crossing right down the road," said one fisherman from Port Arthur, Tre'von Armstad.
Armstad hasn't been able to use the boat ramps at Four Piers for the past six months.
"They were very steep, you always bottom out with your trailer," he said.
With the help of multiple state and area partnerships, three new boat ramps and a fish cleaning station have emerged.
"We want to attract outside people who are going to come in and spend dollars at our stores and basically we want people to move here to be apart of this great community," said Viator.
Viator tells 12News, this is not the only project they've been working on.
"We're also going to be highlighting an artificial reef that's going to be constructed off the Texas coast by Texas Parks and Wildlife. We've been storing a lot of material, artificial reefs will be a habitat to protect fish and for fisherman to be able to catch fish," Viator said.
While construction won't take place until next spring, fishermen like Armstad are happy to enjoy what's already there.
"It's an eye opener. It shows me that they do care, they do want us to enjoy ourselves," he said.
The Sabine Pass Port Authority also received a $2.3 million grant through TxDOT to reconstruct South 1st Avenue and Mechanic Street, according to Viator.
A ribbon cutting will be held on the November 9, 2023 to unveil that project and the new boat ramp.