This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

In early 1982, a group from San Juan County, headed by Calvin Black, requested that Utah's State Highway 276, between Hall's Crossing and Bullfrog marinas, be connected by a ferry boat.

At that time, I was Utah's assistant director of transportation and was able to obtain a $900,000 grant from the State Community Impact Board to begin construction on the requested ferry.

The new, 100-foot-long (increased to 150 feet long in 1996) 25-year salt water-certified ferry was patterned after an existing 150-foot Canadian ferry and constructed by Mark Steel of Salt Lake City. It was 42 feet wide and powered by two 8V-71 Detroit diesel engines.

The ferry was dedicated on May 4, 1985, and was named the John Atlantic Burr after my great-grandfather, an early pioneer rancher who was born aboard the SS Brooklyn on Feb. 24, 1846, somewhere on the Atlantic Ocean.

The John Atlantic Burr operated successfully for 20 years, ferrying cars and tourists between Bullfrog Marina and Hall's Crossing Marina. As the lake level and tourist traffic increased, an almost identical ferry, the Charles Hall, was commissioned through Mark Steel to work in tandem with the John Atlantic Burr and began operation in 2001.

Here's where it gets interesting: In 2005, UDOT was facing a re-certification inspection by the U.S. Coast Guard. Rather than dry dock the John Atlantic Burr while it underwent the re-certification process, or save it as a parts repository for the Charles Hall, the Huntsman-Herbert administration decided to sell it to BC Ferries of Canada for $200,000.

After purchasing the John Atlantic Burr, the President of BC Ferries inspected the vessel and reported it to be in excellent condition; stating that with a $4.5 million (Canadian) investment, their newly acquired ferry would've cost approximately $20 million to construct new.

With its upgraded hull and lengthened superstructure, Canada continues to enjoy an outstanding ocean-going ferry, while Utah has a broken down Charles Hall with limited funds and few parts to fix it.

Charles Anderson

Orem