DOTD adds ferry to ease congestion, underscores need for integrated multimodal transportation system
Saturday, August 27, 2016 at 3:48:17 PM
BATON ROUGE - With recovery efforts underway across the capital region, today DOTD Secretary Shawn Wilson announced that an additional morning ferry will be operating at Plaquemine landing starting Monday. The announcement follows an influx of commercial and personal vehicle traffic throughout the region as communities rebuild from the recent flood.

The flood event has highlighted issues in the region that we all want to address in a meaningful way," said DOTD Secretary Shawn. Wilson. "This is about improving our quality of life and expanding economic opportunity. With proper funding, more long-term than disaster funding, DOTD can deliver for Louisiana."

This additional ferry will allow up to an additional 120 vehicles an hour to cross the Mississippi River. It will operate on weekdays from 5:30 a.m. - 8:30 a.m., starting August 29, 2016, and ending September 30, 2016. For more information on available ferry services,
http://wwwapps.dotd.la.gov/operations/ferrystatus.

"We expect the influx of travelers throughout the region to remain for some time, and expanding the ferry service is the best way to provide a level of short term congestion relief," Secretary Shawn D. Wilson said. "Recovery from the flood underscores the serious need for an integrated multimodal transportation system that provides better mobility and connectivity for Louisiana citizens. Expanded ferry services are a step in that direction, but it will take a statewide collaborative effort to bring meaningful change with sustainable revenue." The department also established a regional express transit service to assist individuals that lost vehicles in the flood return to work.

Earlier this year, Governor John Bel Edwards established a task force to make recommendations on how to fund Louisiana's pressing multimodal transportation needs, including Megaprojects in Baton Rouge and other regions of the state would solve major congestion issues, but require billions of dollars to build.

The task force has met twice already and will begin regional meetings across the state starting in September.