Ferries and Barges no Longer Needed to Fuel Boston Harbor Project
After ten years of flawless service, the Boston Towing Company and Boston Harbor Cruises terminated their barge and ferry services to the Massachusetts Water Resource Authorityós Deer Island Treatment Plant.
Friday Dec. 29, BTC ran its last barge to and from the island, and BHC ran its last ferry, with a handful of MWRA employees riding as a tribute to the ten-year relationship.
Originally contracted as mitigation to minimize traffic impact on the town of Winthrop, the services eventually became a good way of transporting both the materials and man-power needed to construct the Deer Island Treatment Plant. Over the ten-year period 464,000 trucks were moved back and forth to the island, carrying an approximate total of 2.2 billion dollars worth of cargo. The ferry service transported approximately 3.1 million people. The total cost of the service was approximately $81,000,000.
The termination brings to an end a perfect ten year working relationship between the MWRA and the Boston Harbor Cruises Ferry service, and the Boston Towing barging service.
Stephen Corbett, Central Support Director at the MWRA said, "These guys all did a great job. Running 24 hours a day, seven days a week in all types of weather conditions, we came out with a perfect safety record. They performed flawlessly."
Corbett credits the vessel captains, crews and other employees of both companies for the huge success, and says had it not been for the performance of these two companies, The Boston Harbor Project might not have been successful in meeting its performance and budget schedules.
The $3.8 billion Deer Island Treatment Plant is the main component of the Boston Harbor Project, the court-ordered cleanup of Boston Harbor.
The Squantum Pump Station, a 1930s facility that serves 5,600 Quincy residents and several large commercial users, is undergoing very similar modifications and should also be completed in two years.
The first three parts of the overall Quincy Pump Facilities project, Squantum Pumping Station Force Main Rehabilitation, Quincy Pumping Station Force Main Rehabilitation, and Hough's Neck Pumping station, were recently completed.