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TICONDEROGA — Bus service to and from Vermont is being expanded to try to take up the slack after the Ticonderoga Ferry closes after today's runs.
The ferry will end service Monday after its last regularly scheduled trip this evening.
According to the ferry operator, Matot Inc. 1759 LTD of Whiting, Vt., the reason for the suspension is that the company has not been able to secure marine insurance beyond Jan. 3. Only six companies write marine insurance policies in the United States, and those contacted won't extend coverage because the Ticonderoga Ferry was not designed to operate during ice and snow conditions.
"We tried to help them, but the ferry was never designed to be operated over the winter," Moriah Supervisor Thomas Scozzafava said. "It's a tribute to the operators of that ferry that they were able to go this long."
The Ticonderoga Ferry normally closes at the end of October, but agreed to stay open after the closure of the Champlain Bridge connecting Crown Point and Addison, Vt. An air-bubbler system has been keeping the channel open.
Many New York residents employed in Vermont used the Ticonderoga Ferry to get to work after the bridge closure.
New York State Department of Transportation and Vermont Agency of Transportation officials say they are expediting construction on the new, all-season temporary ferry located at the former site of the Champlain Bridge, and expect it to be operational by the end of January. They previously said the new ferry would open by the end of December, then began pushing the start date forward in weeklong increments.
Beginning Monday, public transportation in New York via Trailways bus will be available to the Essex Ferry dock with connecting service in Vermont. Buses in Vermont will take riders to stops within Addison County that include Northlands Job Corps, Goodrich Aerospace, Main Street in Vergennes and the greater Middlebury area.
Two buses are running to Essex from the Ticonderoga Walmart SuperCenter at 4:25 a.m. and 5:25 a.m. Pickup locations along the way include Crown Point Sacred Heart Church, Port Henry Nu-Way Laundry, Port Henry Public Boat Launch and Westport Essex County Fairgrounds, arriving at the Essex Ferry at 5:50 a.m. and 6:50 a.m. Return times from the ferry dock are 4:30 and 5:30 p.m.
The Essex-Charlotte, Vt., Ferry is operating 24 hours a day. There is no charge for passengers during the transportation emergency. A schedule is at www.ferries.com.
The Champlain Bridge was demolished Dec. 28 to make way for a new span expected to start construction in the spring. Closed since Oct. 16, engineers said the 80-year-old bridge was too deteriorated to be repaired.
E-mail Lohr McKinstry at: lmckinstry@pressrepublican.com
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