North Channel Sentinel - News
Ferry reopens after hurricane hiatus
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| Vehicles roll off the deck of the William P. Hobby for the first time since Sept. 12. The hurricane left a costly legacy at the Lynchburg Ferry to the tune of $300,000, Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Sylvia Garcia said. Now, with all repairs completed, the ferry resumed operations Nov. 3. |
By JOSH HARDWICK
After being shut down for a month-and-a-half, the Lynchburg Ferry has finally joined the list of public services restored since a major hurricane impacted Southeast Texas in September.
The ferry, which transports anywhere from 13,000 to 15,000 cars a day back and forth across the Houston Ship Channel, began accepting passengers once again at noon Nov. 3.
The hurricane’s storm surge flooded the entire first story of the ferry’s administrative offices and pushed the William P. Hobby and Ross S. Sterling up onto their own pylons.
Since then David Starett, superintendent of ferry operations and his crew have worked diligently to get the ferries back into working order. That included gutting much of the office, replacing much of the property’s ruined security fencing and hiring cranes to pull the boats off the dock.
Surprisingly, only one boat sustained minor damages. Both vessels have been checked out and deemed safe for operation, said Starett.
“It’s been a headache, but the guys are more than ready to get back to work and do their jobs so that everyone can have the service they need,” he said.
According to Harris County Precinct 2, the total cost of damages and repairs to the ferry is about $300,000, although Commissioner Sylvia Garcia said that the bill could have been much worse.
“We were fortunate that even though the boats were lifted by the surge on top of their landings there was no significant damage to either of them,” she said. “The majority of the cost of getting our ferries operational again has been in safely lifting them from the landings.”
Meanwhile Starett said that he and his crew have retooled their hurricane preparations in anticipation of the next storm, such as transporting many of the vital parts that were destroyed by floodwaters somewhere offsite in advance and modifying the ships’ moorings to prevent them from being pushed up out of the water.
“Hopefully I’ll be retired by the time the next storm comes,” Starett said.
The Lynchburg Ferry operates daily from 4:30 a.m. until 8:15 p.m.
The ferry, which transports anywhere from 13,000 to 15,000 cars a day back and forth across the Houston Ship Channel, began accepting passengers once again at noon Nov. 3.
The hurricane’s storm surge flooded the entire first story of the ferry’s administrative offices and pushed the William P. Hobby and Ross S. Sterling up onto their own pylons.
Since then David Starett, superintendent of ferry operations and his crew have worked diligently to get the ferries back into working order. That included gutting much of the office, replacing much of the property’s ruined security fencing and hiring cranes to pull the boats off the dock.
Surprisingly, only one boat sustained minor damages. Both vessels have been checked out and deemed safe for operation, said Starett.
“It’s been a headache, but the guys are more than ready to get back to work and do their jobs so that everyone can have the service they need,” he said.
According to Harris County Precinct 2, the total cost of damages and repairs to the ferry is about $300,000, although Commissioner Sylvia Garcia said that the bill could have been much worse.
“We were fortunate that even though the boats were lifted by the surge on top of their landings there was no significant damage to either of them,” she said. “The majority of the cost of getting our ferries operational again has been in safely lifting them from the landings.”
Meanwhile Starett said that he and his crew have retooled their hurricane preparations in anticipation of the next storm, such as transporting many of the vital parts that were destroyed by floodwaters somewhere offsite in advance and modifying the ships’ moorings to prevent them from being pushed up out of the water.
“Hopefully I’ll be retired by the time the next storm comes,” Starett said.
The Lynchburg Ferry operates daily from 4:30 a.m. until 8:15 p.m.
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