North Fork commuters trying to reach the South Fork were stuck in a sand trap before sunrise Tuesday as U.S. Open traffic began clogging the East End.

Video shot by a driver leaving Greenport showed a line of vehicles backed up to the Welcome to Greenport sign on Route 25 as frustrated motorists waited to board the North Ferry. The backup also drew several sharp complaints on Facebook from residents and commuters.

The first ferry to Shelter Island departs around 5:30 a.m., but one resident said the ferry line had stretched on Wiggins Street nearly to Sixth Street by about 5:35 a.m. An hour later, that the line had backed up nearly a mile past Mills Canvas on Main Road, another commenter wrote the Residents for Greenport group page.

Greenport Mayor Kevin Steussi said Tuesday’s logjam reflects a broader traffic issue.

“The village of Greenport and entire North Fork have become the bypass for South Side tractor trailer and commuter traffic on the North Ferry, with the U.S. Open this week we’ve seen an already big problem worsen significantly,” he told The Suffolk Times.

The Suffolk Times reached out to North Ferry officials for comment.

The early-morning gridlock comes despite a $3.1 million project to revamp the North Ferry queue, expanding the staging area from one lane to five lanes. The project was designed to more than double the number of vehicles the queue can hold, from 36 to 74, and reduce ferry-related backups in the surrounding neighborhood, The Suffolk Times previously reported.

The traffic hell raised questions about whether North Ferry’s new vehicle staging area was being fully used. One resident said only one lane in the staging lot appeared to be open and questioned why the area was not being staffed to better manage the backup.

Others questioned why ferry officials had not added earlier service during the hectic week.

As of 11 a.m., North Ferry-bound traffic had returned to normal but commuters were bracing for another mess come the evening rush.

Southold Town police warned motorists to expect significantly heavier traffic throughout the East End this week, with visitors traveling to the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club and the Mattituck Lions Strawberry Festival.

The golf tournament tees off Thursday and concludes Sunday, Father’s Day. The Strawberry Festival begins Wednesday and runs through Sunday.

Mr. Steussi said Greenport has pressed North Ferry to revamp its pricing model.

“The village has made requests of North Ferry company in recent years to reconsider rates for large trucks so as to disincentivize them from using the north fork as a bypass to Hamptons traffic,” the mayor said.

The post North Ferry line clogs Greenport streets as U.S. Open traffic builds appeared first on The Suffolk Times.

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