The Woodland Ferry Captain House in Seaford is scheduled to be torn down and replaced with a new building next year.
The Captain House is a former residence that was most recently renovated in 1993.
“The Captain House is our administrative building located just adjacent to the Woodland Ferry. And it really serves as the home-base for our staff that operate the Woodland Ferry on a daily basis,” said DelDOT community relations director C.R. McLeod.
He says DelDOT feels staff that operate the Woodland Ferry need more space and a facility that fully accommodates their needs.
McLeod says because the building is so old it will be easier to rebuild rather than retrofit and modernize again.
“This is a fairly old building. In fact, it was a converted residence before it became a DelDOT building. The last significant renovation was about 30 years ago," said McLeod. "And we just determined that it will just be easier to replace the entire structure than try to retrofit it and modernize once again.”
A design for the new building is nearly complete, but it still needs state and county approval. A historical review will also be done to make sure that there is no historical significance to the current structure .
McLeod says he expects the project to go out to bid before the end of this year with more information, including a price tag available then.
He notes the Woodland Ferry, which spans the Nanticoke River between Seaford and Laurel - is one of the oldest ferry crossings in the United States and carries about 200 vehicles per day on average.
