BATON ROUGE, La. – The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) announced that the St. Francisville/New Roads ferry closed this morning when debris in the river struck and damaged the M/V St. Francisville’s rudder, shearing the rudder’s shaft.

The boat was immediately taken out of service and crews worked to retrieve the rudder which has been sent to the Bollinger Shipyard in Harvey, La., for repairs.

The M/V St. Francisville will be moved by tugboat to the Bollinger Shipyard the beginning of next week. Once at the shipyard, the vessel will be lifted out of the water for maintenance. DOTD expects service at the St. Francisville/New Roads landing to be closed up to two weeks.

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.

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www.dotd.la.gov