Updates From Ferry Division Meeting
Deputy Ferry Director Jed Dixon was in Ocracoke on Monday, March 19 to introduce the new District 2 Superintendent, Wade Sokolsky. Mr. Sokolsky, a retired Army colonel, is originally from Sea Level, grew up in Beaufort, and had been working for several years at the Cherry Branch ferry office. His area of responsibility will be the Cherry Branch, Southport, and the sound ferries (Cedar Island, Swan Quarter, and Ocracoke). Chris Bock, District 1 Superintendent retains responsibility for the Hatteras, Currituck, and Pamlico River ferries, as well as the passenger ferry operations.
Jed stated that construction of the passenger ferry is proceeding on schedule for delivery by the end of June and to be operational sometime in July. A contract for the construction of terminals at the Hatteras north dock and on Ocracoke has been awarded to AR Chesson Construction Company from Williamston, NC. The contract for the four trams has also been awarded but the contract for the dock construction has not. Since the bids returned were higher than expected some of the work will be done in house and the contract will be put out for bids again. Jed says that they are still on track to finish by June. An internal group is working on the details such as ticketing, reservations, and signage. Work also is continuing on branding and a logo. They hope to have a promotional video available soon.
It was recently reported that the ferry system would request a license to sell beer and wine on the passenger ferry. This recommendation came from the passenger ferry stakeholder group (four members are from Ocracoke) and not from the ferry division. Selling beer and wine on the passenger ferry would require the approval of the North Carolina General Assembly and while the request is in the works, it is not certain. It is the hope of the ferry division that if the license is approved, this would provide an opportunity for a local business to provide this service.
The NC Ferry system will be publicizing the passenger ferry through a variety of means. They will use social media (NC Ferry on Facebook and Twitter) to release what they are calling “Fast Ferry Friday,” a weekly progress report on the construction of the passenger ferry and its implementation. The first issue of “Fast Ferry Friday” was March 16, 2018.
In addition to the “Fast Ferry Friday” publications, the ferry system will be producing other informational materials such as rack cards with FAQ’s designed to help the ferry passengers choose which ferry service best suits their needs. Deputy Director Dixon said, for example, if a passenger wishes to spend the day on the beach then the literature would suggest that they take the car ferry. However, if the passenger wishes to come to the village to shop, sightsee, and dine, then they would be steered toward the passenger ferry.
As we all know, ferry service to Swan Quarter and Cedar Island has been on a reduced schedule while dredging of the Big Foot Slough has continued. Dredging should be complete by March 31st and the dredge will then move on to Hatteras. While the Hatteras ferry channel has remained open, the shoaling has changed prompting the Coast Guard to add additional markings to the channel.
Another issue of prime importance is the disintegration of the ferry boarding lanes at the South Hatteras Docks (the north end of Ocracoke Island) due to the encroachment of the inlet. What used to be four lanes is down to two. Aerial photos taken on February 1st and March 13th of this year show a dramatic decrease of buffer between the inlet and the pavement. The NC Department of Transportation and ferry division environmental personnel are working on obtaining permits to stabilize the area with sandbags. They are not permitted to use materials that will harden the shoreline.
Chris Bock would like to remind everyone that the Hatteras Ferry will move to their spring schedule on Tuesday, March 27 with departures on the half hour (with a few exceptions). The ferry schedule can be found here: https://www.ncdot.gov/download/transit/ferry/ferryschedule.pdf
The next meeting will be held at the Ocracoke Community Center at 3:00 PM on May 21st. As always, the public is welcome to attend.
