Billy Goat Hole Ramp at Dauphin Island Back in Business

By DAVID RAINER, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

A long-anticipated event occurred last Friday when the most used boat ramp in south Alabama, Billy Goat Hole on the east end of Dauphin Island, was officially opened with a crowd of citizens and dignitaries gathered for the ribbon-cutting ceremonies.

The Billy Goat Hole renovation project included new ramps that will accommodate four boats at a time and docks that were installed approximately 30 feet further from Bienville Boulevard to allow more room to maneuver for vehicles with boats pulling onto or leaving the ramp, reducing impacts to local traffic, and will be safer for boaters and pedestrians. The new docks feature composite decking material and are Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant. Additional updates to the facility include an improved parking area, the addition of an ADA compliant lift, and a new wheelchair ramp that improves access to the restrooms and the upgraded concession area.

Chris Blankenship, Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR), had a dual purpose for being at the ribbon cutting. He presided over the ceremony and later returned to launch his boat at the ramp for an afternoon of family fishing.

“This has been a long time coming,” Commissioner Blankenship said. “We’ve been needing a new ramp several years. I get to talk about what this really means to Dauphin Island and the fishing access in this part of Mobile County. You’ll notice the ramp is moved farther back. The old ramp would impede traffic with people trying to launch boats. Scott Bannon, our former Marine Resources Director, suggested we moved this farther into Billy Goat Hole so the vehicles would be out of the road. We have a guy launching a boat right now, and it’s not impeding the traffic at all, which is what we hoped it would do.

“As you can tell this has been done first class. We wanted to make sure this was done in a way, No. 1, that it would be here for decades, and, No. 2, that it would meet the needs of the public. I’m just proud this was done in a first-class way with the concrete, the flow-through decking, the marine grade lumber. It’s going to be here for a really long time.”

The ramp is bordered by the Mobile Bay Ferry dock on the west side and a marine service company on the east side, limiting the amount of space available to rebuild the ramp. The piers at the ramp are wider to be ADA compliant.

Commissioner Blankenship applauded Blade Construction and Volkert Engineering for the ramp construction and Ben Radcliff Construction and Mott MacDonald for the concession area improvements. The Commissioner also thanked the ADCNR staff, including Jacques Hollings, who served as the liaison between the Department and the contractors, engineers and architects.

Dauphin Island Mayor Jeff Collier said the updated Billy Goat Hole ramp and facilities will have a huge impact on the island.

“We’re an island that depends on tourism, people coming and having fun,” Mayor Collier said. “This has always been a very popular launch, one of the most popular if not the most popular in south Alabama. I think this will make it even more so. We appreciate the partnership with Governor (Kay) Ivey in making sure this would happen, and the work done through Conservation (ADCNR) to not only get the funding for this project but to take it from start to finish. As an island community, we couldn’t be more blessed.”

Commissioner Blankenship said the Billy Goat Hole project was funded with GOMESA funds from offshore oil and gas production. He said the ramp, parking improvements and concession area work was a $3 million project. 

“This is quite an investment,” the Commissioner said. “I’m thankful for having the GOMESA funds that is shared among the four producing Gulf states. Last year, we received right at $40 million in GOMESA funds for projects in coastal Alabama, and we anticipate having about the same amount of money this year. We want to make sure we make good use of it, just like this project.

“Again, I want to thank Scott Bannon for shepherding this thing through. We could have done it quick. We could have done it cheap. Or we could do it first class and do it right. Scott was the one who made sure we did it right.”

Bannon, who retired from Marine Resources in the summer of 2025, said he and Hollings spent many hours walking the construction site, discussing design aspects and the desired outcome. Bannon also took advantage of the video surveillance system at many of the boat ramps.

“We would go stand where the project needs to be done,” Bannon said. “We would talk about what needs to be done, what needs to happen, what can we do to make this better. I said let’s watch what people do. I spent a ridiculous amount of time watching what happens at boat ramps all across coastal Alabama. What I learned was the habits of the people who launch here and what we need to do to make it more efficient, make it more effective and make it safer. This ramp prior to the remodel here had gotten dangerous. The delays were driving me crazy, but it was mainly driving me crazy because the people didn’t have access to a safe ramp to use.

“Parking was one of the challenges associated with this ramp. It was causing traffic hazards. So, we were able to create identified spots for parking. It was a change, and change is difficult for all of us, but we went from back-in parking to pull-in parking. It was that change that almost got me run off the island. But after a little bit, people realized we were able to have more trucks and trailers and bigger trucks and trailers if we did the pull-in parking.”

Bannon also urged boaters and anglers to use one of the additional features of the new ramp – the boat prep and tie-down lanes. In the boat prep lane, boaters can get their equipment loaded and have the boat ready to launch when they pull onto the ramp. When loading the boat from the ramp, the tie-down lane is designed to move the vessel away from the ramp and get it secured for the road.

“I’m so proud and so excited for everybody who has been involved in this,” Bannon said. “I’m especially excited for the Town of Dauphin Island and the boaters, recreational, commercial, people who like to hang out and watch them launch boats because there is huge entertainment value in that.”

Commissioner Blankenship noted that since Governor Ivey has been in office more than $44 million has been invested in boating access along the Alabama coast.

Kevin Anson, who succeeded Bannon as Marine Resources Director, was Boating Access Coordinator earlier in his career at Marine Resources.

“I’m fond of boat ramps because they represent an adventure or journey,” Anson said. “This location is where a lot of people including kids and families begin their journey out into the Gulf and into the Bay to experience the wonderful Alabama outdoors. It’s great to see kids’ faces as they load up in the boat and get excited about going out and seeing new things and new animals and just being a part of the outdoors.”

Commissioner Blankenship said not only do boat ramps provide access for recreation but also greatly impact the economies in those communities.

“Before I came to the ramp, I went and bought a big bag of ice and some bait to put on the boat,” the Commissioner said. “After we leave, I’m taking the boat to the Circle K and put gas in it, and then I’m going to put the boat in the water and use it. When you multiply that by all the people who use this ramp, that’s a lot of tax dollars that come to the Town of Dauphin Island that they can use to continue to make improvements here.”

Another person excited about the opening of the Billy Goat Hole Ramp is Charlie Gray, a member of the Alabama Conservation Advisory Board as well as a charter boat captain on Dauphin Island.

“I think this is incredible,” Gray said. “We’ve needed this badly for quite some time. Moving it out of the way of the road is just a great idea. The engineering it took to get this was well worth the wait to get it to where it is today. I think it’s great for the commercial guys, the recreational guys and the jet ski guys. It’s good for everybody and very much worth it.”

In upcoming access improvements, Mobile County will be building a new ramp at Cedar Point later this year and the Bayou la Batre City Docks project, now under construction, will include an additional four ramps once completed.

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