Steamship Authority Aims to Calm Woods Hole Traffic Congestion Amid Terminal Work

The Steamship Authority faced an intense start to its busiest time of year during Memorial Day weekend.

High winds on Thursday, May 22, forced ferry cancellations, leading to thousands of Island-bound travelers clogging the roads to the Woods Hole terminal on Friday, May 23.

With construction work at the terminal limiting vehicle capacity, many motorists were advised to return closer to their scheduled sailing time. That situation created even more traffic havoc in Woods Hole.

“We will admit we got overwhelmed by the number of people that were coming down that [Friday] morning,” general manager Robert Davis told the Steamship Authority's advisory port council this week. “The staff there … were able to get the police details [to the] site to be able to assist in the traffic and keeping the traffic moving as much as possible.”

According to a Vineyard Gazette report, Director of Shoreside Operations Alison Fletcher and Chief Operating Officer Mark Amundsen are meeting to devise a plan that would prevent a repeat of May 23 from reoccurring. 

Davis said the Steamship Authority intends to hire more terminal workers in Woods Hole and coordinate with the Falmouth Police Department to add traffic details as necessary.

The boat line said it had bought a golf cart to transport passengers who have trouble walking across the lot to the ferries.

The Woods Hole terminal reconstruction project is about a year from its completion date. Work began in late 2017 with the installation of a modular temporary ticket building.

The Steamship Authority's ticketing, waiting, and office building at the water's edge was torn down in early 2018. 

In past years, terminal construction was halted between May and October to accommodate visitor traffic. To stay on schedule, however, work on the ticket building will continue throughout this summer.