The bureaucratic red tape has been unsnarled and last week the Steamship Authority learned that it would receive $5 million in stimulus money from the Federal Highway Administration, which will allow three terminal construction projects in Hyannis, Oak Bluffs and Woods Hole to proceed on schedule.

At a special meeting Friday in Hyannis boat line governors voted to award contracts for the three projects. The Oak Bluffs project, which has been in the works for more than 10 years, is now expected to be completed on time in April of next year.

Last month senior managers at the boat line learned that the funding from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act might be held up due to problems with definitions and specifications in the boat line projects. For example, because the Hyannis project involves the replacement of a transfer bridge, federal regulators were requiring that the project meet certain federal highway standards for bridges — even though a transfer bridge is not really a bridge but a ramp that connects a ferry to a dock.

“This was a long process that started with applying for shovel-ready projects and these projects were not initially designed to Mass Highway or Federal Highway design standards; there were issues that had to be resolved,” said SSA general manager Wayne Lamson yesterday. “So that took some time.”

Bidding for the Hyannis project had to be postponed as a result.

On Friday contracts were awarded as follows:

• $6.8 million to AGM Contractors Inc. of Mashpee for the Hyannis project, which includes realignment of a ferry slip and the creation of a dedicated berth for the high-speed ferry to Nantucket. Total cost of the project is just over $7 million; $3.5 million will come from federal stimulus money.

• $3.9 million to C.R.C. Co. Inc. of Quincy for the final phase of the Oak Bluffs project, which will include replacing the passenger walkway and rebuilding the passenger terminal. Total cost of the project is about $15 million; about a third of it will be covered by federal grants including the latest $1 million in stimulus money.

• $473,000 to Pihl Inc. of Canton to build a new center dolphin in Woods Hole; $450,000 will come from federal stimulus money.

In a memorandum that went out to employees Friday Mr. Lamson expressed gratitude to Gov. Deval Patrick and other high-ranking state officials for their help in freeing up the funds.