GEORGETOWN -- If a multi-hundred-thousand dollar federal grant is approved, Sandy Island residents will have half the money needed for a new ferry service to transport them back and forth to the mainland.
SC Dept. of Transportation Deputy Secretary of Mass Transit, Glennith Johnson, said the DOT requested $148,000 in a federal grant to be used at Sandy Island. The Federal Transit Administration should begin reviewing the request sometime after March 2nd, and Johnson said typically takes about 90 days for the FTA to review and approve-or disapprove-a grant.
This particular grant would go towards hiring a management company, or contracted operator, to handle a ferry service for the Georgetown County island. Johnson said Coast RTA, who initially requested more money for the island from the DOT, would eventually like to purchase a boat to specifically service Sandy Island.
But, even if the federal grant is approved, there still needs to be another $148,000 to make any of this happen. Johnson said the federal grant would only pay for half of the estimated $296,000 it would cost for a new management ferry service.
That additional $148,000 could come from residents, private donors, or county funding. Johnson expects the FTA’s decision should come by May.
The request for more money came months after a deadly boating accident killed three people while traveling between Sandy Island and the mainland in February 2009.
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