WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-Commuters Fear Ferry's Closure
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Shoreham, Vermont - November 13, 2009
Commuters who take the Ticonderoga Ferry to cross Lake Champlain every day say they see its operators so often, they've become like family.
"These guys bring us coffee, doughnuts, cookies," ferry owner Michael Matot said.
But Theresa Jackson would rather see her own family.
"I don't see my family anymore," Jackson said. "I work 50 hours a week."
She lives in Ripton but works in Ticonderoga. She worries her commute will get even longer if the ferry shuts down as planned this weekend.
"If they shut down on Sunday, I have two hours to get here and two hours back home," she said. "That's four hours, so I'm lucky if I see my kids once a week. And then Christmas, gas -- are you kidding me? That's expensive."
The ferry was supposed to shut down November 1. But when the Champlain Bridge closed October 16, the crew agreed to keep running for a month, until November 15. Now they're ready to call it quits for the season. Captain Jon Porter has been working 16 hours a day-- the busiest in his 43 years onboard.
"It's wicked," he said. "I wore out two pairs of shoes already walking back and forth."
The ferry usually carries 150 to 200 cars a day. Thursday it carried 856. Operating hours have been extended to keep the ferry running from 5 a.m. - 8 p.m.
"We say 8:00 but we're not going to leave somebody here," Matot said, "so it's closer to 9:00."
The Ticonderoga Ferry is one of the oldest in North America, dating back to the 1750s. It's usually used by summer tourists now, and is simply not designed for winter weather.
"The deck for instance, if we get ice on there, cars are going to bump into other cars and we could have accidents," Matot explained. "They have to be salted and you know what salt's going to do to steel? This is an old ferry and the ramps are all wooden, we'd have to put down some expanding metal so tires can get a grip."
He also said the ferry is not designed to handle ice, so ice breakers or bubblers to keep the lake from freezing would have to be installed. And all of that would be expensive.
State officials are negotiating to keep the ferry operating until a new one can be installed near the Champlain Bridge. It's a deal Theresa Jackson hopes can be reached before her commute gets even longer-- and time with her kids even shorter.
"They're 9 and 13," she said. "Think about trying to get themselves ready for school with no mommy there."
Kate Duffy - WCAX News
Related Stories:
Champlain Bridge Will be Demolished
Ferry Companies Offer Free Transit Across Lake as Bridge Remains Closed
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