The 5:30 a.m. Steamship Authority trip from Vineyard Haven to Woods Hole will be put on hold starting next week as the ferry line replaces a concrete finger pier at the Vineyard Haven terminal.
Maintenance work at the Island terminal is scheduled to start on Wednesday, meaning the Sankaty ferry that normally makes the first departure from the Island will be berthed in Woods Hole instead of Vineyard Haven.
With the boat spending its nights in Falmouth, the 5:30 a.m. trip will not run for the length of the project, which is expected to take about six weeks.
During construction, the first departure from the Island will be a 6 a.m. trip aboard the Martha’s Vineyard ferry. All freight and vehicle traffic has been rescheduled and will be accommodated, the Steamship Authority said in a statement.
The finger pier is on the south side of Slip 2 in Vineyard Haven. It has settled due to the age of the timber piles that support it, according to the Steamship Authority. The steel stop beam that supports the slip’s transfer bridge will also be replaced.
The Authority said the work is preventative and being done to ensure passengers and vehicles can continue to cross the bridge off the boats and onto the Island.
The Steamship’s governing board on Jan. 16 approved about $556,000 for the work.
