Earlier, Nita Settina, the superintendent of Maryland State Parks, called me to say the project has all required permits and will be put out to bid in June, with construction scheduled to start after Labor Day, when beach and boat traffic lessens.

"I was pretty shocked, too," she acknowledged. "Times are tight. We only have two projects and some maintenence budgeted. This made the very short list."

Blueprints call for a crested surface 7 feet to 8 feet wide, about 7 feet above the water. A surface of smooth stone would make walking safer and more comfortable. When completed, it will mirror a privately owned jetty just below the Bay Bridge.

Last September, Zinck buttonholed me for an inspection tour of the old jetty, whose underpinnings were compromised in the 1970s to make way for the second span of the Bay Bridge. Stones weren't restacked properly and storms battered what was left, creating a misshapen pile of boulders.

Despite the trying conditions, Western Shore anglers without boats have few alternatives, so they carefully pick their way out among the stones to wet a line.

Settina said when she walked it, she immediately understood the problem and quickly realized that a rehabilitated jetty could be part of a long-term improvement plan that includes a nature center and a new playground, "to make Sandy Point the model state park in Maryland."

With nearly 900,000 users last year, Sandy Point, just outside Annapolis, was the state's fourth most popular park.

"This is a good project and an asset for everyone," Settina said.