Johnston will seek grant for boat ramp at Clayton

SMITHFIELD — County Commissioners on June 17 agreed to seek a grant to build a boat ramp, fishing pier and parking lot on the Neuse River at Clayton.

The chances of landing the state Water Resources Development Grant are good, said Adrian O’Neal, director of Johnston’s Parks and Open Space Department. “We have indications that our grant application is very competitive,” he said in an email.

O’Neal’s office is seeking $160,000, or more than half of the project’s estimated cost of $283,600. The county would have to come up with the rest.

“We expect to hear something in a fall or winter time frame of 2024,” O’Neal said.

The county bought the land three years ago, paying the Board of Education $34,080 for 2.84 acres on Castleberry Road across from East Clayton Elementary School.

At nearly 3 acres, the parcel has more than enough room for a boat ramp, fishing pier and parking lot, said Austin Cross, grant coordinator for the Parks and Open Space Department. “We’d actually have a little bit of room left over with that, so there could be any expansion in the future if there needed to be,” he told County Commissioners last week.

Johnston is working with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission on the project, O’Neal said. “Depending on their schedule, we hope to have the facility completed by late 2025, early 2026,” he said. “The planning and design work is approximately 30% complete.”

The ramp would be the third public access on the Neuse River in Johnston County, O’Neal said. “This ramp … will also provide a point of access for Emergency Management for water rescues,” he added.

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