For people who don’t mind taking the casual boat ride from Mayport to Heckshear Drive (or vice versa) it’s been a tough couple of months. But ferry riders are now back in business. On last Thursday, November 1st, the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) reopened the St. Johns River Ferry for normal operations. JTA has been operating the ferry since 2016.
The ferry was taken out of service in September to replace the terminal bridges on both sides of the river and perform required maintenance on the vessel.
JTA CEO Nat Ford, local politicians and supporters attended the special re-dedication ceremony. Supporters had the opportunity to ride the upgraded ferry connects the north and south ends of Florida State Road A1A in Duval County, linking Mayport Village and Fort George Island via sailing across the St. Johns River.
The 0.9 mile voyage crosses the St. Johns River 2.5 miles inland of the river’s mouth and departs every half hour. For those who don’t want to loop around to the Dames Point bridge, the St. Johns Ferry is considered a great option.
(Jacksonville Free Press print edition retraction for the issue dated 11/8-14/18; photo was printed as JTA Executive Ernest Maiden welcoming passengers back to the Ferry; should be Ernest Maiden is not an executive of JTA, he is Vice President of the Gibbs Group engineering firm.)
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