Drone cargo flight from Catawba Island to Put-in-Bay is a first
A drone carrying Spangler Candy Dum-Dum lollipops took the first official flight across Lake Erie with cargo from Catawba Island to Put-in-Bay.
PUT-IN-BAY – A $10.4 million award from the U.S. Department of Transportation will go to the Put-in-Bay Township Port Authority for a new breakwater project and expand the ferry dock infrastructure on South Bass Island.
This is Phase I of the Breakwater for Main Ferry Terminal project, which provides critical infrastructure upgrades to protect the ferry dock from rough weather and rising lake levels.
The announcement was made by Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo, Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development. The DOT award comes through the FY24 Port Infrastructure Development Program.
“This major federal investment in Put-in-Bay’s ferry infrastructure will secure safe, resilient transit between Ohio’s mainland and South Bass Island — a cherished economic and cultural hub. Rising lake levels and severe weather increasingly threaten ferry operations, and this new (breakwater) will safeguard vital routes for passengers, goods, and emergency services,” Kaptur said.
The money will fund the construction of a second dock and a 406-foot stone breakwater to bolster the safety and resiliency of the main ferry terminal, commonly associated with the Miller Ferry Line, at the south end of South Bass Island.
The improvements will directly support the operations of Miller Boat Line, Inc., a primary ferry operator on Lake Erie. As ferry transportation is the primary means of accessing South Bass Island, the upgrades will benefit nearly 850,000 annual visitors and the island’s year-round residents.
Jacob Market, project manager of the Miller Boat Line, said the grant will cover 90% of the estimated costs of the project, with the rest covered by Miller.
“We believe it will pay itself off within 15 years, just for that phase alone. So it’s a good investment for the federal government. It’s not like it’s just going to go away and never be seen again,” Market said. “There’s going to be returns on this for generations to come. The boat line is going to pay (the balance) ourselves. There will be no local tax burden.”
The construction of this breakwater will offer a critical layer of protection, ensuring continued safe transit during storms, heavy winds, or other adverse conditions.
The project will also create a designated maintenance berth, allowing for secure mooring of ferries during repairs and serving as an alternate loading area for passengers, vehicles, and cargo when the main dock is unavailable.
“The Port Authority will own the property that the breakwater is on,” Market said. “The current pier that the ferry docks at is unprotected from several directions, and it’s really the wind. We have to cancel lots of trips every year because of strong east winds and rising lake levels and seiche.”
The Miller Ferry calculated that the island loses about $2.5 million in revenue annually due to those cancelations.
Seiche is a water phenomena, similar to tides, that are “caused when strong winds and rapid changes in atmospheric pressure push water from one end of a body of water to the other…As recently as 2008, strong winds created waves 12 to 16 feet high in Lake Erie, leading to flooding near Buffalo, New York,” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration noted.
“The docks weren’t built for that high of water, and we are in a cycle of high water right in, in all of the Great Lakes, and it just compounds all those problems,” Market said. “It affects the boat business, but also the local economy. We have a lot of commuters and a lot of the little businesses here; if they lose a weekend, that’s huge … I think that was one of the compelling facts, allowing us to get this grant.”
“We’re super excited about this project,” Market said. “The Port Authority and Miller Boat Line are partners in this venture. We’ve been applying for this program for six years through various funds and grants, and this is the one we’ve applied to for the last several times.”
Phase 2 of the project, if funded, would extend the breakwater to approximately 700 feet. According to Market, plans have not been completed for that phase.
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