Residents and businesses excited to see Gagetown ferry start running again

Gagetown ferry eagerly awaited Residents along the St. John River have been counting down the days. Mike Cameron reports.

QUEENSTOWN, N.B. — After waiting four years, residents along the St. John River are now counting the days.

Ferry service that was cancelled amid provincial cost-cutting is making a comeback in the Gagetown area.

Some say the Gagetown ferry's return is perfectly timed for a summer of staycation travel.

For the past four years, Hugh Harmon has been a full-time beef farmer and a part-time boater.

When the Gagetown ferry was cancelled, he starting using this boat to get to the other side of the St. John River where he has land and cattle. It's faster than a long drive around to the other side, but far from ideal.

"It's doable, but it's certainly not a profitable way, or an easy way or a safe way to try to run your business," Harmon said.

The link to the Jemseg and Cambridge-Narrows area was severed in 2016. Business owners in the area noticed an immediate drop in road traffic -- one that continues to this day.

"If the economy in this area is going to survive, we have to get that transportation back," said Gagetown resident Wilf Hiscock. "The last year it operated, 87,000 vehicles crossed there. That was only a part-time year. We're missing most of these vehicles."

Some say those vehicles will be more important than ever this summer, as the tourism industry will rely heavily on New Brunswickers hitting the road and exploring their own region.

Business owners in Gagetown say a turnaround is overdue.

"After everything that's been going on -- after two floods, a pandemic -- we're really looking forward to people doing the staycation," said restaurant owner Thane Mallory.

The renewed ferry service begins July 1.

"Hopefully it will get used a lot, and hopefully it will help the tourism, and certainly it will help the agriculture, I know that," Harmon said.