It’s a ferry nice upgrade
SEAROAD Ferries has secured approval to carry out a $35 million upgrade of its precincts at Queenscliff and Sorrento.
The Bellarine base will receive a new ferry terminal, cafe, public boardwalk and viewing platform.
Searoad Ferries chief executive Matt McDonald said that after gaining a permit from the Borough of Queenscliffe that preliminary planning had started.
“Construction will commence within three years, but there is no definite timeline at this stage,” Mr McDonald said.
“We would envisage the project taking one to two years to build.”
He had previously revealed the world-class facility would see passengers board the ferry using a retractable walkway.
“(It) offers significant benefits including better safety and pedestrian access to the pier, hundreds of new jobs in the construction phase, and a major economic boost for the region,” Mr McDonald said.
Early estimates are that the project will support 155 direct and 50 indirect jobs.
Queenscliff’s building will provide weather protection for passengers boarding or disembarking the ferry.
The facility will have accessible bathrooms, sheltered waiting areas, retail outlets and a cafe with indoor and outdoor seating.
A new pedestrian boardwalk from the ferry terminal to the beach will include a lookout to the east and outdoor seating to the west.
Over the other side of Port Phillip Bay, a twostorey terminal will be built at Sorrento.
That site would include a cafe and lounge, maritime museum, toilets and small retail outlets.
The cross-bay route carries more than 850,000 people and 200,000 cars annually, making it the busiest passenger ferry service in Australia.