Economic Development & Industrial Corporation of Lynn

Lynn preps for second phase of ferry project

April 20, 2011
By Chris Stevens/The Daily Item

The Economic Development and Industrial Corp. is moving ever closer to Phase II of a three-part project director James Cowdell said will ultimately bring ferry service to Lynn.

On July 1, which Cowdell said "really isn't that far away," the EDIC will receive a $1.3 million grant that will allow it to begin reconstruction of a collapsed seawall that abuts the Blossom Street public boat ramp. It will also fund dredging, which will literally make way for the ferry. The seawall work will ext-end the bulkhead from 60 feet to 150 feet and complement approximately 2.7 acres of oceanfront land owned by the EDIC. The overall project aims to create a seasonal facility and eventually a year-round ferry terminal.

The crumbling seawall at Blossom Street Extension in Lynn is seen Tuesday. (Item Photo / Reba M. Saldanha)

Last October, the state Seaport Advisory Council approved the grant that gave the stalled ferry project a much-needed jump start. A previous Seaport Advisory Council grant for $750,000 paid for Phase I, which included demolition of a building on the site of the proposed ferry terminal, construction of a public boat ramp and the paving of parking spaces.

Cowdell said he is putting together a Request For Proposals (RFP) for the Phase II work. He expects the projects, the dredging and the wall reconstruction will go out to bid in June.

"And we'll be looking at July to begin the work," he said.

Phase III of the project, which Cowdell said he hopes will be funded through yet another grant in July 2012, will be the preparation of the actual dock.

"We're two to three years away from actually having a ferry docked," he said. "But (so far) it's good."

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