| RELEASE: CONTACT: |
IMMEDIATE Leah Bott (757) 925-1515 leah.bott@VDOT.virginia.gov Cell (757) 619-4617 |
HRO-0664 Dec. 29, 2006 |
MILLIONTH CAR RIDES THE JAMESTOWN-SCOTLAND FERRY IN 2006
SURRY For the first time in 81 years, the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry carried more than 1 million cars in a calendar year.
The ferry has come close to this landmark for the past several years, but has just missed it due to occasional low daily volumes.
I am really proud of my crew and all the hard work they do in order to get people and their vehicles across the ferry safely and efficiently every day, said facility manager Bill Mathus.
The milestone of one million cars in a year shows that our free service is a viable alternative to the (Interstate) 64 corridor. The demand has really grown in the last few years, he said.
Carolyn Motton of Dendron was the happy driver of the millionth vehicle, cruising through with her ferry staff escort at 10 a.m.
She had her car decorated by Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) staff and was presented with a certificate and a gift bag of assorted VDOT items.
Motton has been using the ferry service for 29 years to commute to and from work at Colonial Williamsburg.
The Jamestown-Scotland Ferry offers a free, 20-minute, scenic cruise along Virginias historic James River as it crosses between Jamestown on the peninsula and the Scotland Wharf on the southwest side of South Hampton Roads.
Travelers can save time and gas and avoid a 65-mile inland trip to cross the river.
The ferry fleet, from oldest to newest, consists of:
The daily average in the summer is 3000 cars and in the winter is about 2300, except around the holidays when the number increases again. Mathus said the total for Dec. 18 was just over 2700 cars.
For more information about the ferry schedule visit VirginiaDOT.org or call (800) VA-FERRY.
(END)
Information in VDOT news releases was accurate at the time the release was published. For the most current information about projects or programs, please visit the project or program Web pages. You may find those by searching by keyword in the search Virginia DOT box above.
The ferry has come close to this landmark for the past several years, but has just missed it due to occasional low daily volumes.
I am really proud of my crew and all the hard work they do in order to get people and their vehicles across the ferry safely and efficiently every day, said facility manager Bill Mathus.
The milestone of one million cars in a year shows that our free service is a viable alternative to the (Interstate) 64 corridor. The demand has really grown in the last few years, he said.
Carolyn Motton of Dendron was the happy driver of the millionth vehicle, cruising through with her ferry staff escort at 10 a.m.
She had her car decorated by Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) staff and was presented with a certificate and a gift bag of assorted VDOT items.
Motton has been using the ferry service for 29 years to commute to and from work at Colonial Williamsburg.
The Jamestown-Scotland Ferry offers a free, 20-minute, scenic cruise along Virginias historic James River as it crosses between Jamestown on the peninsula and the Scotland Wharf on the southwest side of South Hampton Roads.
Travelers can save time and gas and avoid a 65-mile inland trip to cross the river.
The ferry fleet, from oldest to newest, consists of:
- The Virginia (1936)
- The Surry (1979)
- The Williamsburg (1981)
- The Pocahontas (1995)
The daily average in the summer is 3000 cars and in the winter is about 2300, except around the holidays when the number increases again. Mathus said the total for Dec. 18 was just over 2700 cars.
For more information about the ferry schedule visit VirginiaDOT.org or call (800) VA-FERRY.
(END)
Information in VDOT news releases was accurate at the time the release was published. For the most current information about projects or programs, please visit the project or program Web pages. You may find those by searching by keyword in the search Virginia DOT box above.
Page last modified: Dec. 29, 2006
