Storm damage to Warrnambool's boat ramp is much worse than first thought, the city council has revealed.
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The boat ramp has been closed for more than two weeks since massive swells also damaged the breakwater, forcing its closure.
The closure has meant recreational fishermen and the Coastguard have been unable to launch their vessels.
Works are expected to be carried out on the ramp - once labelled the worst in the state - on Friday in the hope that it can be reopened for recreational fishermen and the Coastguard which has been unable to launch its inflatable vessel.
"The detailed assessment of the ramp infrastructure proved that the damage it suffered was greater than initial visual inspections indicated," the council said in a statement late on Thursday.
"The obviously damaged stainless steel grates were part of the issue along with sections of the ramp itself that had moved.
"To enable it to be opened - we are hoping this will be Friday afternoon - sections of the ramp will be profiled and replaced with asphalt."
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The repairs will be carried out while the council awaits on funding from the state government for a major upgrade.
Last week it was revealed the original plans for a world-first porous boat ramp to replace the aging facilities at Warrnambool's harbour had been scrapped in favor of a non-porous design.
"The design that has been agreed on is for a non-porous ramp and replacement of the two jetties with slightly larger and fully accessible jetties," the spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for the city council said there was now an agreed design for the boat ramp and the project was close to being shovel-ready.
Deputy flotilla commander of the Warrnambool Coastguard Keith Priest said that while its larger boat was currently in Portland, members were not able to launch their inflatable boat at the moment.
"We've got an inflatable boat and we can't use the ramp so we basically can't launch anything. Nobody can launch a boat at Warrnambool at the moment, legally," he said.
Mr Priest said he only found out the ramp was closed when he went down there himself to launch a boat.
"The last thing I expected was for it to be still closed. If it is closed, it must be for a good reason," Mr Priest said.
However, he said there had been little communication from the council to warn people that it was closed.
"Obviously safety's paramount. Obviously we don't want anyone using a ramp when they're in any danger of hurting themselves or their equipment, but at the same time I think it's reasonable for good communication to happen," he said.
"The coastguard wasn't informed about it."
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