Ferry for Gee's Bend
Governor Bob Riley and members of the world-famous Gee's Bend quilters celebrate aboard the ferry when it reopened Monday after a 44-year absence. The ferry links residents of the Gee's Bend community to Camden, the Wilcox county seat, making a 40-mile trip by highway far less. Service between the two communities was discontinued in 1962 at the height of the Civil Rights Movement. Federal funds were allocated for the ferry in the mid-1990s but it took eight years to build the ferry and there were were a multitude of other problems that kept it from being put into operation. The ferry was finally completely reworked and as Gov. Riley observed Monday, "Someone said one time it's better late than never. Well, from 1962 to 2006, it's later, ladies and gentlemen. But it's here and we're going to do everything we can to make sure it keeps running." The ferry can hold 149 people or about 20 vehicles and will cost $3 per vehicle and $1 per passenger. It's expected to cost more than $700,000 a year to operate, money that will come from state and federal coffers for the first year. The county will then have to pay for the ferry. If funds aren't available or the ferry isn't deemed to be being used enough, it could close.
Governor's Office Photo
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