St. Johns River Ferry Service plows through first weekend of operations after month of closure

The St. Johns River Ferry Service, also known as the Mayport ferry,

More than a month after being shut down, the St. Johns River Ferry Service is once again running across waters that extends State Road A1A on the First Coast.

The ferry trips crossing the river in the northern area of Duval County were put on hold after the ferry vessel hit a loading ramp and damaged the ramp structure on May 4.

The ferry returned to taking vehicles, bicyclists and pedestrians across the river through the weekend after completing repairs to the loading area. The fix was completed about two weeks ahead of schedule, according to the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA).

While the primary reason for the shutdown was to repair the loading ramp, JTA officials say crews took advantage of the downtime and also completed required maintenance stipulated by the U.S. Coast Guard. Since crews utilized that time, they completed those maintenance requirements about a year ahead of schedule.

Florida Politics reached out to JTA officials to get details on the cost of the repairs and what exactly was fixed, but the agency has not responded.

The ferry service is a key component of 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. However, every time such a proposal is made, local outcry, protests, and local political wrangling have ended up with funding mostly intact.

In September, the ferry service was awarded a $15.6 million federal grant to buy a second vessel. The point of getting the second ferryboat is 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.