Plans to remove the connector road at the north end of Bolinas Lagoon to address flooding issues and sea-level rise nabbed a big financial commitment last month when the Board of Supervisors approved a $330,000 contract last week with a design and engineering firm that will start the restoration project. Excising the little road at the Bolinas Wye, the county Parks Department says, will mitigate flooding problems in the area, improve riparian and wetland habitat, allow better functioning of nearby Lewis and Wilkins Creeks and provide room for the 1,100-acre lagoon to expand with rising sea levels. The lagoon, designated a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, provides habitat for fish, harbor seals and thousands of birds. Projects in the lagoon are guided by 13 recommendations in the Bolinas Lagoon Ecosystem Restoration Project, a plan assembled in 2008 by a working group of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council that focused on “addressing human impacts and restoring—as much as possible—natural hydrological and ecological functions.” Since then, the county has removed invasive species, like iceplant and European beachgrass, from the lagoon’s Kent Island. The newly approved contract, which was awarded to Aecom Technical Services, covers the first two phases of the project, said Veronica Pearson, the restoration project manager with the parks department. That includes surveys of cultural, physical and environmental resources; the development of a restoration plan; three “conceptual” alternatives for how to improve the environmental function of the area and reconfigure the roadway; and an analysis of impacts to traffic and the environment. The plans will not include any new signage, Supervisor Steve Kinsey promised.