DOTD to operate additional ferry at Plaquemine landing
Monday, April 13, 2015 at 1:06:14 PM
BATON ROUGE, La. – The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development announced today that starting Monday, April 20 an additional ferry will be operational during afternoon peak travel times at the Plaquemine landing in an effort to help alleviate congestion on La. 1 and the I-10 Mississippi River Bridge.

The additional ferry will operate Monday through Friday from 3:15 p.m. to 7:15 p.m., allowing up to an additional 120 vehicles per hour to cross the Mississippi River.

In addition, DOTD adjusted the existing hours of operation in order to add the additional vessel to keep it from impacting the budget. The new hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 4:30 a.m. to
8 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

This initiative is part of an ongoing effort to identify options to improve traffic flow on the La. 1, I-10 and U.S. 190 corridors. Other current efforts include:

  • A comprehensive review of signal timing to synchronize signals throughout the La. 1 corridor between Plaquemine and U.S. 190.
  • Expanding the Baton Rouge Regional Motorists Assistance Patrol and Tow Program to include La. 1 between U.S. 190 and the Intracoastal Waterway Bridge, and La. 415 between U.S. 190 and I-10.
  • Installing a dynamic message board on La. 1 northbound to provide travel times for both the I-10 and U.S. 190 Mississippi River bridges. Work on the project will finish by the end of 2015.
    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 webpage on the DOTD website.

Drivers can also access updates on the ferry through Twitter by visiting http://twitter.com/PlaquemineFerry. By creating a Twitter account, drivers can receive automatic updates on the ferry’s status via their Twitter web page or text message.

For more information, please visit www.dotd.la.gov, email dotdcs@la.gov, or call DOTD’s Customer Service Center at (225) 379-1232 or 1-877-4LADOTD (1-877-452-3683). Business hours are Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

To view a video of the ferry, visit: http://tinyurl.com/njvfhkh.