The 5:30 a.m. freight departure from Vineyard Haven is back in business for the next couple of months, after regulatory complications pushed back planned dock work at the Steamship Authority terminal until this fall.
The early freight boat had been slated to berth overnight in Woods Hole during January and February, when the Vineyard Haven dock work was initially set to take place until a state advisory board recommended the Steamship Authority seek approval from the town of Tisbury before proceeding.
“As a result of the permitting issues, staff has reinstated the freight boat berthing on the Island for January and February, so that way the 5:30 trip off Island can resume,” general manager Robert Davis told the Steamship Authority board of governors Tuesday morning.
In March, the terminal is scheduled to have new transfer bridges installed, reducing it to a single-slip facility for two to three weeks.
Falmouth resident Nat Trumbull raised an objection to the 5:30 a.m. departure, saying the public wasn’t given an opportunity to comment on the schedule.
Among other Steamship Authority business Tuesday, the board of governors heard from engineering and maintenance director Mark Amundsen that the freight ferry M/V Barnstable is expected to go into service Jan. 25 on the Hyannis-Nantucket route.
Its sister ships M/V Aquinnah and M/V Monomoy are still undergoing work at Alabama Shipyard in Mobile, Ala., where the Aquinnah is expected to be ready for sea trials next month with the Monomoy to follow in June, Mr. Amundsen said.
Also Tuesday, director of shoreside operations Alison Fletcher reported on the Islander-only Blue Line program for same-day travel, which began a 90-day trial period this month.
The program, which provides 12 standby spaces in Vineyard Haven and Woods Hole for Martha’s Vineyard residents whose vehicles are registered with the SSA, has been well-received so far, Ms. Fletcher said.
From Jan. 4 through Jan. 18, she said, 21 drivers used the Blue Line for same-day travel from the Vineyard.
The first request for Blue Line travel from Woods Hole came later in the month, she said, with 10 vehicles using the service between Jan. 10 and Jan. 14.
The Steamship Authority is piloting the Blue Line, and excluding all other standby motor travel, as a way to reduce congestion at both terminals and particularly in Woods Hole, where the SSA is building a new ticket office and utility building.
The ticket office will rest on a concrete slab supported by 434 columns, called geopiers, rammed deep into the earth beneath the terminal.
The process of drilling for the geopiers recently turned up the remains of an old wooden bridge, likely dating to the era when railways still ran to Woods Hole, Mr. Davis said.
Engineers on the site determined the bridge was not historically significant, he said.
“It’s been removed [and] we’re going to be reusing it on site,” Mr. Davis said.
Since 2019, when the terminal project began, construction work has been suspended between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
This summer, however, will see interior work continuing on the ticket and utility buildings, Mr. Davis said.
“[There’s] not going to be any large pieces of equipment,” he said.
The terminal reconstruction project remains on track for completion in 2026, Mr. Davis said.
