Tina Fallon News

Chesapeake Shipbuilding Corp., based in Salisbury, will build a six-car ferry. The estimated cost: $931,000. Work on the dock, piling, bulkheads and piers will be done by George and Lynch Inc. at a cost of $2.1 million. An estimated 50,000 vehicles cross the river by ferry each year, said Tina Shockley, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation. For years, some suggested a bridge would be cheaper to build and operate, but the ferry is so steeped in history and local tradition that few area residents can imagine life without it. The new one, which will be named after former state Rep. Tina Fallon of Seaford, will be similar in design -- with a flat deck for vehicles and a pilothouse. It will be able to carry six vehicles at a time, Shockley said. The Virginia C holds three.