Improvements to the Mason’s Landing boat ramps on Tranter’s Creek should be completed by this summer, according to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.

The commission and contractor met in a pre-construction meeting Wednesday. The contract notice to proceed date is April 25. A contract notice to proceed is a letter from an owner or client to a contractor to stating the date the contractor may begin work on a project. The contract length is 90 days, with the completion date being July 24, according to Sara Sherman, a facility construction engineer with the commission.

In 2013, Washington’s City Council approved an agreement between the city and the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission for to “repair, improve and operate” a public boating-access facility.

Under terms of the agreement, the commission would provide the city with design development for repairs, improvements and renovation of the facility, including the parking area. The commission is responsible for obtaining all required permits for the project. The commission is responsible for paying for the project and future repairs and improvements to the facility.

Under the agreement’s terms, the city will make the Mason’s Landing property available to the commission and provide free public access to the boat ramp and parking for vehicles and boat trailers 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The facility allows boaters, fishermen and hunters access to Tranter’s Creek, the Pamlico-Tar River and its other tributaries. Mason’s Landing is off Clark’s Neck Road.

This project is similar to the one the city and commission completed about five years ago at Havens Gardens.

The Wright’s Creek boating-access area, which provides access to the Pungo River near its confluence with the Pamlico River, is closed for renovations until further notice.

The project will cost an estimated $900,000, with Beaufort County shouldering roughly 10 percent of that cost. However, additional grant funding, if found, could knock the county’s cost down to zero.

The Wright’s Creek boat ramp will improve public access to Beaufort County’s waterways, according to county officials. In addition to the ramp for motorized boats, the purchase of additional property for non-motorized vessels and a fishing pier will make access available to all residents.

The property is formerly known as Buddy’s Seafood or Wright’s Creek Seafood, which sustained severe damage during Hurricane Irene in 2011.