Dartmouth is faced with a three-month ferry closure in just over a week's time as work finally begins on a £1m scheme to repair the crumbling Lower Ferry slipways on both sides of the Dart.

Work on the old slipways at Kingswear and Dartmouth is due to start on Monday, January 7.

The project has been timed to avoid the annual servicing of Dartmouth's only other river link for vehicles – the Higher Ferry – and cause as little inconvenience as possible to motorists. At the same time, the Dart passenger ferry operation will be unaffected.

The work is programmed to finish on Friday, March 29.

South Hams executive councillor for assets Bill Hitchins said: 'This work is vital for health and safety and operational considerations, and we are looking to make this a long term fix, and future-proof the ferries as a smoother running service for many years to come.

'Meanwhile, we hope that ferry users will be able to change their pattern of travel and use the Higher Ferry without too much inconvenience.

'Disturbance during reconstruction work will be kept to a minimum and when finished we hope users and residents will enjoy the new service.'

The council, which owns the ferry, has agreed today to dig into savings to pay for the work rather than loading the bill directly onto council taxpayers.

But engineers have found significant corrosion to the inset crane rails and deterioration of the concrete slipway, walls and fendering on both sides of the river.

The council has confirmed that the work will cost in excess of £1m.

South Hams Council took over responsibility for running the ferry in 1974. It has maintained its operation seven days a week all-year round, except Christmas Day, ever since – with only the occasional interruption to service in bad weather. Key work will be to replace the slipways, install new steel sheet piling, improve impact absorption through more efficient fendering and to remove a low level plinth, an integral part of the Kingswear sea wall, which during landings causes damage to the hulls of the ferry tugs. It also restricts the slip width and the tug's manoeuvrability.

The council have brought in URS, a leading provider of engineering construction and technical services, to design improvements to the slipways.

The slipways will be resurfaced and the crane rails replaced. Both slipways will be raised in height which will give the ferry a wider space to manoeuvre and, as a result the slipways will extend a little further out into the river.

A council spokesman warned: 'Customers' Lower Ferry concessionary tickets will not be valid on the Higher Ferry and the passenger ferry.

'Any of our customers with unused concession tickets will only be able to use them when the Lower Ferry resumes service.'