BATON ROUGE, La. – The Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) announced today that the Plaquemine/Sunshine ferry landing re-opened following repair work from damage caused by Hurricane Gustav.

During Hurricane Gustav, the M/V Iberville took on water, the M/V New Roads sustained damage to its rudder, and both landing barges sustained structural and electrical system damages. The operating hours for the Plaquemine/Sunshine ferry landing are 4 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days per week.

With two ferry landings back up and running, the two remaining landings, White Castle and Edgard/Reserve, will remain closed because of a shortage of licensed marine engineers needed to operate the ferries.

These changes at the above mentioned landings will remain in effect until DOTD has the required number of licensed marine engineers to safely operate the ferries at these landings at full capacity.

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 Web site at www.dotd.la.gov and click on the 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.

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www.dotd.la.gov