Steamship Authority governors on Tuesday approved a pair of change orders totaling more than $483,000 for the ongoing Woods Hole terminal reconstruction by Quincy contractor Jay Cashman Inc.

It brings to about $2.2 million the change orders to date, which boat line general manager Robert Davis said is roughly half of what was budgeted for unforeseen construction costs in the marine portion of the $60 million, multi-year shoreside terminal project.

“When the budget was approved, the marine portion included a contingency of somewhere in the $5 million range,” Mr. Davis told the board at its monthly meeting, held in a New Bedford hotel conference room.

“We budgeted $5 million for change orders?” asked New Bedford governor Moira Tierney.

Monthly board meeting was held in New Bedford Tuesday. — Louisa Hufstader

“Somewhere between four and a half and five million,” Mr. Davis said.

The lion’s share of the latest changes, $314,862, is for restoring the slip 3 bulkhead after vibrations from pile-driving work caused some of the soil to liquefy, shifting the bulkhead out of alignment.

Another $168,450 is going toward the cost of driving the large monopiles for the slip, which became more expensive this year when workers encountered a rocky ledge beneath the harbor bottom that damaged both a monopile and the diesel hammer being used to drive it.

The ledge was unknown when the SSA entered into its contract with Cashman, because the old terminal building was standing on top of the pier. The contract makes the boat line responsible for obstructions more than 10 feet beneath the surface of the soil, according to Bill Cloutier, SSA project manager for the reconstruction.

Further costs can be expected when Cashman begins work on the southern slip, where another ledge is known to exist, Mr. Davis said.

Touching briefly on the contentious topic of the new terminal building, Mr. Davis said that after a series of presentations in Falmouth and on the Vineyard, the boat line continued to take public comments on the design alternatives through April 12.

“We’re now in the process of sorting those out and addressing, where we can, the concerns that were raised,” he said.

Falmouth governor Kathryn Wilson urged Mr. Davis to request a site evaluation by the Woods Hole Group, an engineering consultancy in Falmouth.

“Another set of eyes on this couldn’t hurt,” said Ms. Wilson, who joined the board earlier this year. “I’d like to be more confident that this project makes sense.”

Mr. Davis said contacting the Woods Hole Group was already in the works.

“I thought we were taking care of that last week, but we’ll be taking care of it this week,” he said.

Governors also agreed to spend $589,000 for the ferry Martha’s Vineyard to go into drydock in Connecticut between Sept. 9 and Oct. 20.

The ferry, which received a $17 million refurbishment at a Rhode Island shipyard in 2018 and then suffered several breakdowns, is scheduled for a required Coast Guard hull exam and other work including rudder, propeller and shaft inspections and maintenance, exterior painting and several door replacements.

Thames Shipyard & Repair Co. of New London was the only one of 10 dry dock facilities to respond to the Steamship Authority’s request for bids, Mr. Davis said. The bid came in at nearly $300,000 less than the boat line had budgeted for the work, he added.

As a practical matter, only two shipyards north of New York are sized to handle SSA ferries, boat line director of maintenance and engineering Carl Walker said. Most of the drydocks in the region are designed for larger vessels and don’t make their facilities available to ferry-sized craft, Mr. Walker told the board.

Also on Tuesday governors reviewed the proposed 2020 operating schedule and learned of four new managers Mr. Davis has hired for existing and new positions at the boat line.

Jordan Baptiste of Vineyard Haven has accepted the job of port captain, which had been held open while HMS Consulting/Glosten performed a comprehensive review of boat line operations last year. Mr. Baptiste is an Island native and Coast Guard veteran who has been working on support vessels in the oil and gas industry.

Janice Kennefick starts work as human resources director April 29. She has held similar roles at Ocean Spray Cranberries and Tribe Mediterranean Foods.

Angela Sampson is the SSA’s first manager of health, safety and environmental quality. Generally abbreviated as HSQE, the position was recommended in the 2018 report by HMS/Glosten.

Ms. Sampson, who has worked in HSQE on land for Hasbro and at sea for Celebrity Cruises, started work Tuesday and joined the staff members attending the board meeting in New Bedford.

Another HMS-recommended position, director of marine operations, has been filled by marine industry veteran Mark Amundsen, who is scheduled to start work May 6. Mr. Amundsen most recently has run a ferry service in Europe.

The SSA used marine and executive search firms to identify job candidates, Mr. Davis said. However, neither he nor any of the board mentioned another position that was recommended in the HMS report: a chief operating officer.

During the public comment period at the end of the meeting, Woods Hole resident Nat Trumbull spoke briefly to oppose the terminal building and Cape Cod resident Bill Hallstein asked the board for its vision of how the boat line could integrate with regional rail transportation.

“I would not want to be shooting from the hip here. This is the first I’ve heard of it,” said Robert Jones, chairman of the board and Barnstable representative, answering Mr. Hallstein.

“Demand will be the answer,” Mr. Jones added. “If there’s no market, it makes no sense.”

Next month’s board meeting is scheduled for May 21 at 9:30 a.m. in the Nantucket Whaling Museum.