OB terminal cost rises

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The cost of the Steamship Authority’s (SSA) Oak Bluffs terminal project is expected to increase by approximately $500,000, due to the expense of replacing and protecting the ticket office building’s foundation.

Boatline members received a report on the project Tuesday at the January monthly meeting. The building’s foundation cracked during the removal of the old terminal building, and a new foundation must be built.

SSA general manager Wayne Lamson told The Times the original foundation was built without reinforced concrete. He said the new work will include stabilizing the bank. “Why put a new building on an old foundation?” Mr. Lamson said.

In May, then Massachusetts transportation secretary and Oak Bluffs seasonal homeowner James A. Aloisi Jr. announced that the Patrick administration would provide money from the federal stimulus package to help the boatline complete the third phase of the entire project whose expected total cost is $15 million.

In other news Tuesday, the SSA members approved the addition of lift decks to the motor vessel Eagle, used mostly on the Hyannis-Nantucket run, during the vessel’s $7.8 million mid-life refurbishment, scheduled to begin in late December and take three months to complete.

Asked about the public discussion that accompanied the addition of lift decks to the Island Home, Mr. Lamson said that given the current economy and the distant Island’s limited schedule, Nantucketers welcome the additional capacity.