MANITOWOC, WI (WTAQ) – It’s a sign of the season in Manitowoc, as the city prepares for a historic car ferry to make its 2019 maiden voyage.
On Friday, May 10, the SS Badger Lake Michigan will be arriving for the first time in seventy-five years at a new dock with a newly constructed wall.
The previous dock, which was mostly wooden, had taken quite the beating over time and the final nail in the coffin came last year, as a major winter storm in April created serious damage.
“After seventy-five years of rough winters and rough waters, it was time to be replaced,” explains Manitowoc Mayor Justin Nickels. “So now we’re hoping to get at least seventy-five years out of this new dock.”
A trial run will be held on Thursday, May 9, for crews to test out the dock and wall, which should be more shock absorbent than its predecessor.
Officials believe the new dock will work to quicken departures and arrivals as crews grow accustomed to the new set-up.
The S.S. Badger, which is four hundred and ten feet long and employs more than two hundred people, has long been a Manitowoc mainstay.
As long as it has been crossing Lake Michigan, it has been bringing thousands into the city.
“We have so many people, tens of thousands of people, docking right in our downtown,” explains Mayor Nickels.
And that type of activity is important to the city.
While it’s not tourism in the most classic sense, it proves to be a valuable resource for the various businesses that are located in close proximity.
“If nothing else to gas up at the gas station and maybe pick up some lunch downtown,” he says. “Even that has a massive payoff.”
Especially considering that the S.S. Badger makes nearly 450 crossings each season with approximately 1,500 commercial vehicles, it’s enough activity to be a real money maker.
“They did a study a few years ago and they get in upwards of potentially 100,000 travelers every season,” says Mayor Nickels. “I think the economic impact was about $25 million dollars.”
In fact, some businesses nearby close all together during the off-season because they rely so heavily on traffic generated by the ferry.
For decades, it’s been an essential pillar to the city’s economic fabric.
“The fact that we can literally build and ship anything here in the city of Manitowoc to the rest of the world is one of our greatest assets,” he explains.
The public is invited to Friday’s maiden voyage event for the sailing season.
The S.S. Badger is expected to arrive between 11:45 a.m. and 12:15 p.m.
The car ferry dock is located at 900 South Lakeview Drive.
