A ‘perfect storm’ of North Ferry line delays

The line to board a North Ferry boat to Shelter Island was backed up all the way on to Route 25 to the “Welcome to Greenport” sign Tuesday morning. The culprit is the golf world descending on Shinnecock Hills for the 126th U.S. Open.

The major championship doesn’t tee off until Thursday, but fans driving to catch a glimpse of their favorite golfers during the practice rounds are making parking lots out of South and North fork roads.

The Reporter spoke with North Ferry General Manager Bridg Hunt Tuesday mornng. “It’s a perfect storm,” Mr.Hunt said. “The South Fork is gridlocked because of the U.S. Open and the Highway Department is doing work on the roads for the upcoming 10K this Saturday.”

Mr. Hunt said he heard of a woman in Southampton who was so locked in she took the South Ferry, crossed the Island, took the North Ferry to Greenport, and then drove around to Hampton Bays.

“The bad news is of course  the inconvenience,” Mr.Hunt said. “The good news is that we’re running and moving cars and people.”

The first ferry to Shelter Island departs around 5:30 a.m., but one resident said the ferry line had stretched on Wiggins Street nearly to Sixth Street by about 5:35 a.m. An hour later, that the line had backed up nearly a mile past Mills Canvas on Main Road, another commenter wrote the Residents for Greenport group page.

Greenport Mayor Kevin Steussi said Tuesday’s logjam reflects a broader traffic issue.

“The village of Greenport and entire North Fork have become the bypass for South Side tractor trailer and commuter traffic on the North Ferry, with the U.S. Open this week we’ve seen an already big problem worsen significantly,” he told The Suffolk Times.

The early-morning gridlock comes despite a $3.1 million project to revamp the North Ferry queue, expanding the staging area from one lane to five lanes. The project was designed to more than double the number of vehicles the queue can hold, from 36 to 74, and reduce ferry-related backups in the surrounding neighborhood.

Mr. Hunt said only one lane was open yesterday from 5 to 9 a.m. because of “scheduling confusion.” Today at six o’clock all lanes were open, he added.

“We’re starting some of our boats ahead of their normal schedules. We’re running boats starting at 5 a.m. and then the next boat is 5:15,” he said.

As of 11 a.m., Tuesday North Ferry-bound traffic had returned to normal but commuters were bracing for another mess come the evening rush.

Southold Town police warned motorists to expect significantly heavier traffic throughout the East End this week, with visitors traveling to the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club and the Mattituck Lions Strawberry Festival.

Mr. Steussi said Greenport has pressed North Ferry to revamp its pricing model.