Wacky Connecticut River Ferry Schedule Back to Normal

ROCKY HILL, CT — Water levels on the Connecticut River seem to have subsided enough to put the historic ferry between Rocky Hill and Glastonbury back on a normal schedule, officials from the state Department of Transportation said Wednesday.

The ferry normally begins running on April 1. It was closed for more than a month, but then began running when the water levels went down. It was closed again because of high water for the Fourth of July Weekend.

High water creates a bad angle for the ramp on which vehicles load and unload, state DOT officials have said.

The high water also creates a swifter current and a greater chance that the barge-and-tug ferry would encounter dangerous, floating debris, state DOT officials have said.

Click here for fare and normal operating schedules.

The ferry is the nation's oldest continuously operating service, dating back to 1655.

It crosses the Connecticut River between Rocky Hill and Glastonbury on a tug-and-tow system with a small tugboat - the Cumberland - pulling a barge - the Hollister III. The rig accommodates three cars and about 15 motorcycles. The original ferry was a small raft pushed across the river using long poles. In 1876, the ferry was “modernized” into a steam-driven craft, DOT officials said.

The Cumberland was commissioned in 1955 and there have been three versions of the Hollister.

Patch File Photo