Supporters hold out hope for ferry project

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By J.C. Taylor | Friday, March 10, 2006 12:44 AM CST | () comments

ALEDO, Ill. — The long wait continues but a group continues to hold out hope that a Mississippi River ferryboat eventually will return between Mercer and Louisa counties.

The project was updated this week at the Mercer County Board meeting here, and funding sources continue to be the key issue.

“We have $300,000 from the federal government and we have $60,000 from the Iowa Department of Transportation,” said Mercer County Board member Terry Elliot of New Boston. “Illinois is working on coming up with another $60,000 to match Iowa.”

That money will be used for an environmental impact study.

The ferry route would run between New Boston, Ill., and Oakville, Iowa, with major improvements needed for the Iowa landing site. But before anything proceeds, the environmental impact study must be completed.

“All of that is in work right now with Iowa DOT and the Corps of Engineers,” Elliot said. “We’re going to have a meeting about it next week.”

The project has been discussed since the early 1990s with an $80,000 feasibility study being completed in November 2003.

The report estimated annual costs for the operation to be at about $225,000 with project implementation estimated at between $7 million and $8 million. The project is still going to take a major commitment from the state and federal governments to become a reality, but a task force made up of representatives on both sides of the river vow to push on with the effort.

The ferry operated for some 150 years between the two towns before being abandoned in 1973.

The service would include a barge large enough to carry six to eight cars or two semitrailers.

Drivers on both sides of the river must travel to Burlington, Muscatine or the Quad-Cities to cross the river. Backers of the project say it is more than just convenience. It also is about attracting tourism, economic development and cultural opportunities.

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