AASHTO Journal - CTDOT Giving the Nation’s Oldest Ferry a Makeover

The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) is giving the oldest continuously running ferry service in the country a modern-day makeover to improve safety and accessibility.

[Above photo via the CTDOT]

Work is expected to start in January 2026 at the landings of the Rocky Hill/Glastonbury Ferry, which has been carrying people across the Connecticut River since 1655.

The ferry consists of a barge that can handle three cars and a handful of pedestrians and bicyclists. A diesel tugboat is attached to the barge – a setup known as “towing on the hip” – to make the four-minute trip across the river; a trip made on an as-needed basis depending on travel volume.

CTDOT noted that improvements will include Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant upgrades to sidewalks, ramps, and railings to facilitate pedestrians and bicyclists who make up a good deal of its customers.

While both of those landing sites are getting new security gates and decorative fencing and lighting, most of the work will be at the Rocky Hill site on the west side of the river, the agency said. New concrete ramps and sidewalks will connect an adjacent park to Ferry Lane for safer pedestrian access to the ferry.

CTDOT also will upgrade lighting and install new benches on the Rocky Hill side so fans of the historic ferry can view its operations from a safe perch.

The benches will allow people to enjoy the “picturesque views of the Connecticut River throughout the year, whether it’s the height of summer or when the leaves begin to change colors in the fall,” noted Josh Morgan, CTDOT communications director.

[Editor’s note: Ferry systems operated by state departments of transportation across the U.S. provide a crucial link for a variety of mobility needs, including for students commuting to school, as this story from the North Carolina Department of Transportation illustrates.]

The Rocky Hill/Glastonbury Ferry began operations some 370 years ago as a family-owned enterprise to connect what was then the town of Wethersfield, a Puritan settlement divided by the Connecticut River. The ferry was originally just raft powered by a man with a paddle before it got a “horsepower” upgrade – literally via a horse walking on a treadmill bult into the middle of the watercraft itself.

More than a century after its founding, the eastern Westfield settlement became home to a gunpowder factory that supplied George Washington’s troops during the Revolutionary War. The factory owner’s wife, Eunice Stocking, most likely used the ferry to make deliveries to troops fighting British regulars in New York.

After the Civil War, a steam-powered boat was put into service – and that’s when the state of Connecticut took over the ferry’s operations.

CTDOT’s Morgan said the ferry is not only a “critical connection across the Connecticut River,” its rich history is “a great sense of pride in both communities, as well as [for] CTDOT. Our staff and crews love being part of this history in service to the public.”

The agency added that the Rocky Hill/Glastonbury Ferry shuts down for the season on December 1 and resumes service on April 1. Some of the upgrades planned for 2026 will still be under construction when the ferry reopens in the spring, but the agency stressed that work should not interfere with operations, CTDOT emphasized.