The Federal Highway Administration has awarded the St. Johns River Ferry a $900,000 grant from the Federal Lands Access Program, with the funds able to be used for operational expenses.
The program provides funding for projects on federal lands or transportation facilities located on or adjacent to federal lands. The St. Johns River Ferry links Florida A1A, which provides access to Timucuan Ecological and Historical Preserve and Naval Station Mayport.
The grant will be distributed in two annual payments of $450,000.
The St. Johns River Ferry Commission was established in 2012 and among its responsibilities are to operate the ferry or find a service provider with short- and long-term operational plans.
The ferry was out of service for almost six weeks from December to mid-January, but ridership and revenue for fiscal 2014 are up year-over-year.
The grant is one of two applied for last year by the commission.