Long-sought South Ferry dredging project in the works

After years of worry that disaster could strike before critically needed dredging would take place, South Ferry is finally on the verge of salvation.

Its landings on Shelter Island and North Haven have moved to second place on the list of sites to be dredged by Suffolk County next fall. Steps have already been taken to plan the project and determine where the spoils would be deposited to shore up eroded beaches.

“We are absolutely thrilled with how this is moving forward now,” South Ferry owner Cliff Clark said. For the past eight to 10 years, he has worried that “a perfect storm of winds and tides and other circumstances” would result in an inability to pull boats into slips on either side of the channel because of shoaling.

All along, he has insisted the job should be a county project, not a private job for his company to fund, because the ferry is an essentially link in the state highway, Route 114.

For details, see the Mach 1 edition of the Reporter.