Gagetown ferry deemed unseaworthy and faces uncertain future

People in Gagetown are worried about the future of their ferry service after aninspection three weeks ago found thecable ferry is no longer seaworthy.

The ferry used to cross the Saint John River, carrying vehicles and passengers betweenGagetown and Jemseg.

Despite the factthe ferry cannot cross the river, its engine continues to run andacrewhasbeen moving itevery 20 to 30 minutes in an effort to keep ice from crushing its hull.

Barbara Masters, who owns the Creek View Restaurant in Gagetown, saysif the village loses the ferry localbusinesses will take a big hit.

"It would impact my business 15 to20 per cent because of the tourist attraction traffic and just people that remember the ferry, come down andtake a little drive on the ferry on their Sunday drive, and then keep on going," Masters said.

Transportation Minister Roger Melanson says the ferry repairs fall under the strategic program review that is underway and as a result he can'tcommit to keeping it inoperation until the cost of the repairs hasbeen tallied.

"We're doing the inspection, we're doing the analysis in due courseand I can't even say at this time when the ferry would be put back into service," Melanson said.

Gagetown has lost a number of cable ferries to budget cuts in the past. Upper Gagetown and Central Hampstead both had ferry services but the ferry to Jemseg is the only one that remains.

In the 2009-10 budget, the government led by Liberal Shawn Graham announced it would discontinue the Gagetown ferry, among others. Following a lobby effort to save the service, the government relented and implemented a reduction in service rather than stopping the Gagetown service altogether.

A trip on the ferry to Jemseg takes just five minutes while the drive takes about 40 minutes, but Masters says locals are more concerned about the survival of the community than they are about the longer drive.

"I hear from everyone, 'Here we go again,'" said Masters. "You know, we are afraid for our school, we don't have the enrolment we should so we're afraid for our school andwe're afraid for our ferry. We keep losing."