One of Beltzville State Park's boat launches will soon be more accessible to people with disabilities.

State Rep. Doyle Heffley, R-Carbon, and Sen. John Yudichak, D-Luzerne/Carbon, on Tuesday, announced that Beltzville State Park will receive a $22,518 grant from the Commonwealth Financing Authority to help cover the costs of the installation of a handicapped accessible boat launch. The total cost of the Pennsylvania Parks and Forest Foundation project is estimated to be $27,296."It is great to see improvements being made to Beltzville State Park to ensure the park is accessible to more Pennsylvanians," said Heffley. "We have such wonderful natural resources and they should be available to everyone.""Visitors of Beltzville State Park will be able to take full advantage of what this beautiful park has to offer. The funding will significantly upgrade the facilities and provide improved access for everyone," said Yudichak.Beltzville Lake is a 949-acre lake situated in Lehighton that attracts approximately 500,000 visitors annually. An estimated 185,000 do some type of boating or fishing activities, the project outline stated in July.The project calls for placing an ADA compliant access trail to the launch site at the Preachers Camp boat launch, install an EZ Dock launch and an ADA-compliant transfer station and provide a rack for canoes and kayaks to be stored when not in use.The launch area that will be modified currently has four ADA parking spaces designated closest to the launch but people must "traverse a 75-foot grass covered path in order to access this point for launching," the project outline stated. "This poses a significant problem and unstable conditions particularly when the entry point becomes wet."Department of Conservation and Natural Resources state parks funding will be used as matching funds to complete the project.The project is anticipated to begin in April 2017 and be completed next July.