The bike ferry that links the Island Line Trail, a popular bike path, to the Champlain Islands will operate after all this summer.

The storm-damaged Colchester Causeway is now expected to be repaired by early July. Ferry operator Local Motion announced Tuesday that it will offer daily service as soon as the repair work is done. That's a reversal from last month, when Local Motion announced that the boat rides would be canceled because most of the causeway was expected to be closed all summer.

The Vermont Transportation Agency agreed to fund and contract for the repairs to the popular path that juts out into Lake Champlain, easing the burden on the Town of Colchester.



"It's wonderful news," said Colchester town manager Aaron Frank.

The causeway, a four-mile former rail bed, attracts as many as 900 cyclists and walkers a day in the summer. High winds and waves damaged it in May.

Frank said the repair work should begin within a few weeks. The only causeway section that is open now, from Mills Point to the old Island Railroad bridge, will have to close during repairs.