The Connecticut Department of Transportation secured funding for one of eight “marine highway” projects nationally, with the money to be used to improve ferry service between New London and Orient Point, N.Y., and the goal of cutting freight traffic on state highways.
The Cross Sound Ferry takes about 90 minutes to cross Long Island Sound, making about 12,000 runs annually and eliminating nearly 170 miles of driving for vehicles traveling between New England and Long Island. Officials say the ferries can by improved to take an additional 3,000 trucks off the road annually, or about eight daily. The Cross Sound Ferry currently charges about $2.60 per foot for tractor-trailers, or more than $150 for a 60-foot trailer.
The U.S. Department of Transportation received 35 applications for the funding, also approving projects for New York and northern New England. The initial awards total $7 million but there was no breakdown of each project”™s cost. Projects will have the opportunity to compete for additional funding in the future.
“By creating a more effective transport method across Long Island Sound, Connecticut will be playing a critical role in moving freight more quickly up and down the Eastern Seaboard,” said U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, whose district includes the Bridgeport area, in a statement.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey had its application accepted to expand a cross-harbor rail float service between Brooklyn and Jersey City, N.J. And Maine won funding to expand an existing barge container freight service linking Portland to Boston and Newark, N.J.
The federal government also invited the New Jersey Department of Transportation to apply for future funding to assess opportunities for a network of “marine highway services” at ports in New York, Connecticut and New Jersey, as well as north to Massachusetts and south to Virginia.
