Following months of delays, a project to provide Plymouth with a new and expanded state boat ramp is finally nearing the finish line.

Officials said this week they expect the new Leo F. Demarsh Boat Ramp on Water Street will be open by the week of Oct. 24.

The $750,000 state project was originally scheduled for completion by June 1, but that date was pushed back several times due to unanticipated construction issues, according to David Gould, the town’s director of marine and environmental affairs.

The delays have been a source of frustration to local boaters, who had to do without a ramp the entire boating season. The old ramp was demolished at the outset of construction in March.

“We were certainly hoping we would be able to salvage at least some of the boating season at the end of the summer, but that wasn’t possible,’’ Gould said.

A separate plan to develop an adjacent town maritime facility, meanwhile, took another step forward recently when the town hired an architect to prepare the final design.

The project calls for a new building with shower, bathroom, and laundry facilities for visiting boaters, as well as separate public restrooms to accommodate residents and tourists. There would also be a community meeting room and a new office for the harbormaster.

Officials pursuing several funding options to construct the project say it would meet a number of the town’s waterfront needs, notably in providing services and facilities for transient boaters.

“It would become the hub of the harbor,’’ Gould said.

Owned and maintained by the state but operated by the town, the boat ramp is a key launching facility for both commercial fishermen and recreational boaters.

The project was delayed when water started infiltrating a metal enclosure intended to keep the area dry where concrete was to be poured.

Gould said the seepage may have been related to another unexpected issue, the large rocks that limited the depth to which the contractor was able to drive the enclosure into the water bottom.

A decision was then made to use precast concrete for the lower portion of the ramp, but that added to the delay.

The town tried to accommodate boaters by offering use of the town’s old boat ramp, but that facility is very narrow and at the mercy of the tides.

“It was certainly not an ideal situation by any means,’’ Gould said.

“This is a once-in-a-generation project,’’ Gould said of the ramp project. “We shouldn’t have to endure this kind of thing for quite some time.’’

John Laidler can be reached at laidler@globe.com.