ROCKLAND – The Maine Department of Transportation has received a $650,000 federal grant to aid in the $10.2 million rehabilitation and expansion of the ferry-docking terminal in Rockland.

The U.S. Department of Transportation grant will help the Maine DOT modernize the dock to ease the movement of ferries in and out of the port, accommodate larger ships and increase the port’s capacity, according to Allan Haggan, construction manager for the DOT.

“We’re replacing a transfer bridge that takes the cars from the dock to the ferry,” Haggan said.

“It’s a very complicated thing, because it has to go up and down with the tide and with the load,” he said. “As the ferry’s loaded more, the bridge has to go down. It has to be rugged enough to hold a 100,000-pound truck.”

The DOT is replacing one outdated transfer bridge with two bridges to allow loading and unloading two ferries at the same time, and possibly increase capacity and help with traffic, Haggan said.

Having two transfer bridges could help with the flow of traffic.

Funding for the project is coming from the Federal Transit Authority, which has jurisdiction over passengers who may use the transfer bridge as a walkway to the ferry.

The work is in progress now and is expected to be completed in two months, he said.

“We were hoping for this grant,” he said.

Prock Marine of Rockland is doing the construction.

gchappell@bangordailynews.net

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