BATON ROUGE, La. – The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) announced that the St. Francisville/New Roads ferry will run a limited schedule this Saturday and Sunday from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. The ferry will return to its regular schedule, 4 a.m. to midnight, 7 days a week, on Monday, Aug. 18.

The schedule change is the result of a shortage of licensed marine engineers needed to operate the ferry. DOTD continues to try to hire licensed marine engineers to fill vacant positions. Anyone interested in learning more about the marine engineer position can visit the DOTD website at www.dotd.la.gov and click on Employment Section on the left side menu of the main page or contact Kevin Reed at (225) 379-1916.

Before traveling, drivers should call the Ferry Toll-Free Information line at 1-888-613-3779 for the status of the ferry, or visit the “Ferry Status” page on the right-hand side of the DOTD Web site.