Ferry to Connecticut gets $1.2M for overhaul
The Cross Sound Ferry is receiving $1.2 million in federal money to rehabilitate its Long Island terminal. Passengers are seen here arriving in Orient Point on Aug. 1, 2012. Credit: Erin Geismar
The company that ferries passengers from Orient Point to New London, Connecticut, has received $1.2 million in federal funds to rehabilitate its Long Island terminal.
The Cross Sound Ferry will use the grant to replace 270 feet of bulkhead and repair vehicle ramps at Orient Point, company officials said.
The Federal Transit Administration’s Passenger Ferry Grant Program will supply 80 percent of the project’s cost. The company will supply 20 percent.
“The grant and the ensuing improvements will ensure the reliability of our ferry service for decades to come,” John Wronowski, owner of the Cross Sound Ferry, said in a statement.
Stan Mickus, a company spokesman, said, “The bulkheading we’ve got there is coming to the end of its useful life.” The original bulkhead is at least 70 years old, but the company has replaced pieces over the years, he said.
The company, which runs seven boats, transports about 1.1 million passengers a year. It carried workers and fuel tankers after superstorm Sandy.
U.S. Rep. Tim Bishop (D-Southampton), who helped secure the grant, called the ferry “an important link for those from eastern Long Island who are traveling to New England.”
Updated now Newsday travel writer Scott Vogel took the ferry over to Block Island for a weekend of fun.
Updated now Newsday travel writer Scott Vogel took the ferry over to Block Island for a weekend of fun.
