Expedited repairs to the Oak Bluffs ferry pier will begin soon, after Steamship Authority governors approved a $267,000 bid Tuesday for the work, with a June 22 completion date.
Steamship Authority governors are expected to open bids and award a contract for repairs to the Oak Bluffs pier when they meet Tuesday. Finances are also on the agenda.
The ferry Martha’s Vineyard was running again Saturday afternoon after becoming stuck in her slip in Vineyard Haven in the early morning when a transfer bridge cable failed.
With the financially strapped Steamship Authority in mind, the Massachusetts Congressional delegation is requesting $3 billion in aid to keep the country’s ferry industry afloat. A letter was sent to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and senate leaders Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer May 7.
Masks or face coverings are now required in most public places indoors and out on the Vineyard. But there is one place where they are conspicuously not required.
In a forceful letter, the Oak Bluffs selectmen this week called on the Steamship Authority to make immediate repairs to the summer ferry terminal on the North Bluff.
The financially woe-begotten Steamship Authority has seen a short-term jump in traffic, general manager Bob Davis announced at the weekly board meeting Tuesday, although he said the long-term picture remains a question mark. Ferry traffic is trending upward again.
