DATE: Tuesday, July 1, 1997                 TAG: 9707010232

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D2   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY DEBBIE MESSINA, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   70 lines

CROSSING THE JAMES ON A FERRY NOW FREE AFTER A 71-YEAR WAIT

Surry County stands to gain the most as tolls end today on the Jamestown-Scotland Wharf Ferry after 71 years.

Not only will it mean more money in the pockets of Surry County residents who commute across the James River, but it will also likely encourage more tourists to visit attractions on the south side of the river.

Tolls were $4 per crossing, or 25 cents when a commuter ticket book was purchased. The last tolls were collected shortly before midnight Monday.

``It's removing a burden of a second taxation upon the citizens of the county, and the commonwealth, for them to use what is essentially a bridge from one county to another,'' said Terry D. Lewis, Surry County administrator.

A toll has been charged since the ferry began in 1926 as a private endeavor. The Virginia Department of Transportation acquired the ferry service in 1945.

VDOT is now considering four proposals to re-privatize the ferry operation.

When the toll fee was raised from $2 to $4 in 1992, merchants and attractions reported a decline in sales and visitation, Lewis said.

Conversely, with no toll, the county is expecting a mini-boom in the number of visitors. Officials hope Williamsburg and Jamestown tourists will extend their sightseeing into Surry County.

Surry County is home to Chippokes Plantation State Park which includes museums and a manor house; Smith's Fort, the home built by Capt. John Smith for Pocahontas; and Bacon's Castle.

``We are anxious to see it made more attractive for tourists to visit Surry County,'' Lewis said. ``The tolls for the occasional user at $4 a trip was a very, very significant barrier to tourists in the county.''

Surry County will celebrate the end of toll collection aboard the Pocahontas today at 10 a.m. with vintage cars, a Dixieland band and other festivities. VDOT is co-hosting the event.

Because of limited parking, those who want to attend the ceremony will be shuttled from the Surry County Government Center on Route 31 or the employee parking lot of the Jamestown/Yorktown Foundation near the ferry dock in Jamestown. Guests should be at the Jamestown parking lot by 9:20 a.m. or the Surry parking lot by 9:40 a.m.

Meanwhile, VDOT had hoped to have a new private operator in place by today. But VDOT was busy with higher priority items, said Brenda Madison, VDOT project finance manager.

It will be at least two months before a new operator is chosen. Whoever wins it will be required to at least meet the current round-the-clock schedule.

VDOT officials are reviewing proposals from four companies - Recreational Concepts Inc. of Norfolk, JL Associates Inc. in Hampton, Halifax Technical Services Inc. of Alexandria, and American Overseas Marine Corp. of Quincy, Mass.

VDOT's operating budget for the ferry is $4.1 million. About $650,000 a year was collected in tolls to help offset some of the expenses.

It's the last ferry still operated by the state. Bridges and tunnels have taken over since the heyday of the ferry system in the mid-1950s, when boats crossed the Elizabeth and York rivers, Hampton Roads harbor and even the Chesapeake Bay between Norfolk, Little Creek and Cape Charles.

The state considered replacing the ferry with a bridge in 1990, but the communities on both sides of the water successfully opposed it.

The Jamestown-Scotland Ferry is the only river crossing between the James River Bridge in Isle of Wight County and the Benjamin Harrison Bridge near Hopewell.

About 650,000 cars and trucks are loaded onto ferries each year for the 15-minute trip across the James. On a typical day, that's about 2,100 vehicles.

The ferry operation has a fleet of four boats: the Pocahontas, which has a 70-car capacity; the Surry and the Williamsburg, each with a 50-car capacity; and the Virginia, 28-car capacity. KEYWORDS: JAMESTOWN-SCOTLAND WHARF FERRY

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