The Federal Transit Administration recently awarded the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s (NCDOT) Ferry Division a $400,000 Ferry Service for Rural Communities Program grant to study the possibility of designing and building a second ferry maintenance facility.
The program provides competitive funding to states for ferry service in rural areas.
“The shipyard has limited capacity and creates challenges in meeting the Ferry Division’s needs for required regular maintenance and emergency repairs to vessels,” Jed Dixon, NCDOT Ferry Division interim director, said. “Establishing a second facility would allow for timely maintenance and continued rehabilitation of the fleet. This would make the ferry system more resilient and productive, and help us get boats back in service faster so we can better serve our customers.”
The NCDOT Ferry Division has one maintenance facility, the Manns Harbor Shipyard in Dare County.
A second facility would allow for state crews to perform in-water maintenance more quickly as well as support the local marine industries and student trades training.
The planning study will examine a conceptual site design for a depot-level maintenance facility at the Cherry Branch Terminal in Craven County.
The Ferry Division will provide a $100,000 match.
The Federal Transit Administration awarded 13 grants through the rural program and the passenger ferry grant program.