The St. Francisville/New Roads ferry remains closed while crews make repairs to M/V St. Francisville’s propeller The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) announced today.

Ferry service stopped Dec. 10 when it was discovered that the vessel’s propeller was damaged because of low water levels in the Mississippi River. As water levels drop the propeller will sometimes hit the river bed or debris causing damage.

On Dec. 12, DOTD crews moved the M/V Feliciana, a smaller 17-car ferry, to the St. Francisville/New Roads landing to replace the M/V St. Francisville. The smaller ferry began experiencing electrical problems and was not put into service. 

DOTD crews will continue to work on repairing the M/V St. Francisville and estimate that ferry service will return Thursday or Friday of this week.

The schedule for the St. Francisville/New Roads ferry is 6 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. Sunday through Saturday.

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