BATON ROUGE, La. – The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) announced that the New Roads/St. Francisville ferry will remain out of service until midday on Friday, Jan. 8.

The ferry was taken out of service on Tuesday to allow crews to begin making repairs to the vessel’s engine cooling system. Parts needed to complete the repairs will be delivered and installed tomorrow.

The operating hours for the New Roads/St. Francisville ferry are 5 a.m. - 9 p.m. seven days a week.

Before traveling, drivers can call the Toll-Free Ferry 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.

Drivers can also access updates on the ferry through Twitter by visiting www.twitter.com/StFran_Ferry.

By creating a Twitter account, drivers can receive automatic updates on the ferry’s status via their Twitter Web page or text message. For questions about DOTD’s Twitter page or any other DOTD-related questions, contact DOTD’s Customer Service Center at 1-877-4LA-DOTD (1-877-452-3683). The center’s normal business hours are 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.