SOUTHEASTERN, N.C. — After seven months out of service, the Southport-Ft. Fisher ferry route will reopen Friday.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) first closed the ferry in early January to install a new hydraluic ramp system.
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The closure was initially supposed to last through early April but took more than three months longer than expected.
The $3 million project replaced the system’s aging cable-counterweight ramps at both terminals. The ramp system on the Southport side first failed in Aug. 2019, requiring the ferry to close through Labor Day Weekend.
NCDOT will give all commuter passes with an expiration date of Jan. 5, 2020 or later a 2018-day credit to cover the closure.
Beginning Friday, July 31, NCDOT’s Southport-Ft. Fisher ferry schedule will be:
Monday-Friday
- From Southport: 5:30 a.m., 7, 7:45, 8:30, 9:15, 10:45 and 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m., 1:45, 2:30, 3:15, 4, 4:45 and 6:15 p.m.
- From Fort Fisher: 6:15 a.m., 7:45, 8:30, 9:15, 10 and 11:30 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 1:45, 2:30, 3:15, 4, 4:45, 5:30 and 7 p.m.
Saturday-Sunday
- From Southport: 7 a.m., 8:30, 9:15, 10, 10:45 and 11:30 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 1, 1:45, 2:30, 3:15, 4, 4:45 and 6:15 p.m.
- From Fort Fisher: 7:45 a.m., 9:15, 10, 10:45 and 11:30 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 1, 1:45, 2:30, 3:15, 4, 4:45 and 5:30 p.m.
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