Madison Courier Staff Report
Free ferry service between Madison and Milton, Ky., if the bridge is closed for replacement would be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Indiana and Kentucky transportation officials said.
Still, only about 40 percent of the 11,000 vehicles that would use the bridge daily could be accommodated, they said. There has been a 15-ton weight limit on the bridge since March.
The ferry boats, which can hold up to 24 cars each, would not be operated if weather or river conditions made the river unsafe, the transportation officials said in a press release.
"Two ferries would run most of the day, and one ferry would operate at night and on weekends," said Kevin Hetrick, project manager for the Indiana Department of Transportation. "If necessary, we could add a second ferry for big weekend events." In addition to cars, the ferries could accommodate small trucks.
The ferry service would take vehicles and pedestrians from the Milton, Ky., boat ramp at Milton's Ferry Street to the former boat launching ramp at Madison's Ferry Street near the city of Madison campground.
Each crossing would take about 12 minutes, including loading and unloading, officials at INDOT and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet said. During peak hours, the ferries could carry 240 cars per hour, and about 4,800 vehicles could be accommodated daily, they said. Remaining drivers might choose to take an alternate route, such as Markland Dam, or choose not to make the trip or travel to another location, they said.
Plans are being developed to manage parking and traffic in both staging areas, the transportation officials said, and restrooms, sidewalks and resurfacing would be added at both launch sites, they said.
Since the ferries wouldn't be used until early 2011, there is still time for public opinion on ferry operations, the transportation agencies said. The public can take part in a poll at www.MiltonMadisonBridge.com that asks how long motorists would be willing to wait to ride the ferry once the bridge closes.
"We expect the system to balance itself out over the first few weeks of operation," said Gary Valentine, project manager for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. "By then, each driver will figure out their best personal option for getting across the river."
Ride-sharing is one option being considered to minimize wait times, and vehicles with high occupancy may be given priority for boarding, Valentine said. "We're also looking into adding signs in the staging areas that would let drivers know how long their wait would be from that point in the queue," Valentine said.
Responding to several requests from the public, the project also researched the possibility of a floating bridge as an alternative to ferry service. The use of a floating bridge was found to be cost-prohibitive at an estimated $900 million, more than six times the $131 million cost of superstructure replacement, the transportation officials said. They said other obstacles included the width of the Ohio River and the accommodation of barge traffic.
The estimated $5.6 million cost of ferry service is one of the project's mitigation efforts to minimize the impact of closing the bridge for about a year.
"Without the addition of the ferry service, the economic impact to the region would be far worse," Hetrick said. "This is a substantial investment by both states to offset the closure of a bridge that needs replacing."
In late January, the two states will find out if they have been awarded $95 million in federal stimulus funding toward the estimated $131 million cost of the proposed superstructure replacement. The states will split evenly the remaining cost. Superstructure replacement involves removal of the current bridge's steel superstructure and construction of a new span atop the existing piers. It would require closing the bridge in early 2011 for about a year.
Copyright 2024, The Madison Courier