Over the past 16 or so months, one of my tasks at Capital Outlay was going through the steps necessary to create and install two National Park Service style interpretive signs at the Fredericksburg City Dock. This was part of our attempt at establishing a floating dock adjacent to the boat ramp. The purpose of the dock was to provide a location for the UMW rowing team to practice. The signs were a requirement from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources since the dock itself is situated where the civil war pontoon bridge crossed the river. Anyhow back to the signs. What started as a simple project to create the panel design and provide the text turned into a very prolonged process. Approvals from 4 different agencies were required at every step and finding a company to create the panels and frames and facilitate the installation proved easier said than done. What should have been finished by early February was finally installed and wrapped up during the second week of April. What makes me discuss these little noticed additions to the riverfront landscape today is the recent rain and the high waters on the Rappahannock River this week. Yesterday the water was slowly receding but still at about the 12 foot mark on the depth marker. Fortunately the signs were still there. However you could tell there was water up to and beyond them at some point during the day. However our rowing dock pilings haven’t survived the winter as well. One was lost during the earlier flooding and yesterday the remaining two looked as if they were going to be washed away at any moment.