It is not at all a sure thing that Islesboro’s aging ferry ramps will be replaced next year, as the selectmen had requested in early October. They made their request on the recommendation of a selectman-appointed community advisory group called the ramp repair committee. In fact, the state ferry service has reported that to build ramp bridge components off-site requires an eight- to ten-month lead time from when it is ordered, prompting it to ask the town if it would consider a spring 2009 construction.
The committee has not yet met to consider about a fallback date. Town Manager Marnie Diffin said, “Fall 2008 is looking like a long shot, and that’s the truth.”
The ramps are weight-limited to 72,000 pounds, and always have been. The ferry crew allow only one fully loaded dump truck on the ramp at a time. Capt. Rod Johnston said that the crew observed the condition of the I-beams on the Lincolnville side and decided on their own to allow only one truck at a time. They reported their concern to the state Department of Transportation, which took no action until the crew followed up with photographs of the beams. The ferry service now monitors the ramp condition and says it will take any steps necessary to avoid bridge failure.
Despite not being sure of the exact work schedule, the ramp repair committee is researching what services to request of the ferry service while the work is being done. They will take into consideration seasonal variations in the island’s transport needs but for now, the committee is planning with a fall repair in mind.
Individual committee members have been assigned a town institution (school, public works) or population segment (contractors, health services, etc.) to meet with, to ask what service each will require during construction. They will determine, for example, how many square feet of freezer space at what frequency will stores and the school lunch program need to transport foodstuffs. They will consider moving everything from people, fuel, trash and mail.
According to Diffin, the ramp committee will define the needs, but how much the ferry service will provide is both unknown and un-guaranteed.
At its Nov. 13 meeting, The Islesboro school committee briefly discussed the possibility of altering the school calendar to allow for school not to be in session during the ramp repair period. With sufficient lead time for planning, the school schedule could start as early as August to allow for time off later.
The ferry service must take several steps before setting a date. The project must be put out to bid, and then the service will wait to see if it receives any bids at all on the project. The service may find it has to work within a schedule imposed by the contractor as well as supplies. As Diffin explained, “A contractor might say, `well, we can do it, but not in October 2008, we will have to do it at such-and-such a time.’ ”
Once funding — another variable — is in place for the project, then the ferry service can fix a date for the work. While the service greatly prefers a “shoulder” season (spring or fall) to do the work, a spring repair is widely acknowledged on the island to be the worst of all possible times. Caretakers, landscapers and construction workers all use the ferry constantly from April through June hauling soil, stone, plant and building material to ready the island’s summer houses. Lacking the ferry at that time would set island workers so far behind that they would never catch up.