Mayport ferry service on State Road A1A in North Florida knocked out of service due to mishap

The JTA is giving Jean Ribault a backup to ferry across the St. Johns River between Mayport and Fort George Island,

It’s going to take a bit longer than usual to trek through State Road A1A in North Florida due to a mishap at the St. Johns River Ferry Service.

A slipup at one of the ferry slips to the Mayport vessel that takes motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians across the St. Johns River has led the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) to announce an indefinite shutdown.

“The closure follows an incident currently under investigation by the JTA and in coordination with the appropriate authorities. No injuries were reported,” a JTA news release said.

Reportedly, a ferry vessel struck a boarding ramp on the south side of the St. Johns River that is part of the slip that attaches to the historic Mayport fishing village area. Inspections are already underway and repairs have been ordered.

Until the repairs are complete, JTA officials said the ferry service will not be operational and will remain closed.

The ferry service is a key component to A1A in North Florida. The vessels transport vehicles and passengers back and forth between the Mayport Village area on the south of the river and the northern slip, which empties onto Fort George Island’s Heckscher Drive in Jacksonville, continuing along the coastline into Nassau County. The service knocks off about a half-hour of road travel for motorists.

The ferry slips are barely a mile from the Atlantic Ocean and the St. Johns River jetties at the mouth of the waterway. The next closest crossing of the river is about 5 miles to the west at the Dames Point Bridge, a major cable span that is part of Interstate 295 that completes a beltway around Jacksonville.

The ferry service has had a tumultuous history in the past few decades. Several Governors have considered ending funding for the waterway service. But every time such a proposal has been made, local outcry, protests and local political wrangling has ended up with funding mostly intact.

In September, the ferry service was awarded a $15.6 million federal grant in order to buy a second vessel. The point of getting the second ferry boat was to prevent shutdowns of the service if the only operational vessel runs into trouble and is knocked out of commission.

The ferry service is estimated to transport at least 400,000 passengers per year, according to JTA.