This project aims to replace the transient boating facilities at the tides INN marina and improve the dock amenities offered to visitors

The Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Region 5 awarded the Virginia State Board of Health Office of Emergency Preparedness $988,205 on December 12, 2025, under the Sportfishing and Boating Safety Act (CFDA 15.622) to replace transient boating facilities and improve dock amenities at the Tides Inn Marina in Irvington, Virginia.

The project funds construction of a new ADA-compliant bathhouse and upgraded transient docking infrastructure to replace facilities that have surpassed safe usefulness and suffered structural damage from a faulty retaining wall. The work includes replacement docks with upgraded electrical service and lighting, a new bathhouse building, and accommodation for 24 boat slips capable of harboring vessels up to 145 feet in length. The upgrades will provide safe overnight docking and onshore facilities for transient boaters traveling the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway and Chesapeake Bay, eliminating the need for boaters to anchor in the main channel and use dinghies to reach shore. The facility will also provide safe access to pump-out and fuel services.

The Boating Infrastructure Grants program funds construction, renovation, and maintenance of docking and mooring facilities for recreational vessels 26 feet or greater in length, supported by excise tax revenues on motorboat fuel, certain electric motors, and fishing equipment. Facilities must be open to the public during reasonable time periods.

Period of performance extends from the award date through December 11, 2028. Work is performed in Irvington, Virginia.

The docks and dock amenities have surpassed their safe usefulness, and due to structural issues in the bathhouse caused by a faulty retaining wall, the bathhouse building is no longer safe for transient boaters to use. The upgrades in the dock?s electrical service and upgraded dock lighting will improve boater?s safety. The result of the newly constructed bathhouse and the dock upgrade will allow the tides to safely harbor more transient boaters and provide them with much more than the basic amenities available at any other marina on the chesapeake BAY. The tides marina will offer an ADA-compliant dock and bathhouse experience to a transient bathhouse with 24 boat slips and the ability to harbor boats up to 145 feet. The new docks and bathhouse will offer safe overnight docking and onshore facilities for transient boaters cruising the aiww or traveling the chesapeake BAY. This will eliminate the need for boaters to anchor off the main channel and use a dinghy to reach shore, improving waterway navigation and reducing the risk of boating accidents. Additionally, this allows safe access to pump out and fuel facilities. The upgraded transient dock is also expected to generate direct and indirect revenue, supporting economic growth, business retention and expansion, and job creation in lancaster county.