PORTLAND, Maine —
Portland's Casco Bay Lines is currently doing piling work just off Gate 5 at their terminal.
For safety reasons, Gate 5 will be closed from November 14-18 and an alternate car ferry service will be provided by LPA from Portland East End Boat launch to Peaks Island.
The alternate car ferry service schedule can be viewed here, on the Casco Bay Lines website.
“Some of the work they’re doing this week, actually, is to build a new dolphin which is a fendering system. It’s a group of pilings — and portions of that is going in this week which is the reason we’re not running the car ferry,” Nick Mavodones, Operations Manager at Casco Bay Lines, said.
Walk-on passengers to Portland’s islands can still catch a ferry as normal.
People looking to ferry their car to Peaks Island can buy their ticket from the Casco Bay Lines terminal and will then be directed to the boat launch on Portland’s East End Beach.
Lionel Plante Associates (LPA) will be providing the car ferry service from Portland’s East End Beach boat launch, which will not accessible during low tide, to the Casco Bay Lines berth on Peaks Island.
Mavodones explained that the popularity of the islands have increased over the years, and this work will help with demand.
“Well, this stuff going on currently is going to lengthen the face of the pier which will make a difference, because when this place was built in the 80s, the boats were much smaller," Mavodones said. "It was designed for smaller boats, so we can’t make use of all of the berths ... loading and unloading of passengers at the same time, so this will allow us to do that. It will also give us some additional space for passengers and for loading freight.”
The work to expand the pier is expected to wrap up next spring.
Mavodones added that they currently have a hybrid electric car ferry in the works which they expect to launch in the summer of 2024.