Dorena-Hickman Ferry rates to increase Friday

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Crossing the Mississippi River on the local ferry will cost a couple more bucks starting next month.

Mississippi County commissioners approved a rate increase for the Dorena-Hickman Ferry during their regular meeting late last week as recommended by the Mississippi County Port Authority Board.

With Diesel fuel prices likely to stay high and regular maintenance needed for the tug boat and barge, "we need to increase the rates," Port Authority board member Kenny George said.

Rates were last raised in 2010, George said, for the ferry trip between Dorena in Mississippi County and Hickman, Kentucky.

"We finished up the year in the black for a change," George said. "We want to try to keep it that way."

Fuel costs for the ferry in fiscal year 2014, which ended June 30, came to $107,000, which is up from $88,000 for fiscal year 2013, George said.

"Crew payrolls are going up, stuff like that," George said. "We've done all the [budget] cutting we can do."

George said an out-of-water inspection of the tug boat and barge, which will require them to be in dry dock, is scheduled for November.

Carlin Bennett, presiding commissioner, said he doesn't expect to see fuel prices come down in the next couple of years, either.

On Friday, basic fares for a space no wider than 8 feet will go up from $14 to $16 for a space up to 30 feet long; from $28 to $32 for a space up to 55 feet long; and from $42 to $48 for a space of up to 75 feet long.

Return trips for the same vehicle traveling the opposite direction will still be available for half price with the presentation of the original ticket. Rates for wide loads, discounted fares and fare vouchers all remain unchanged.

"I think it's an asset for the county," Commissioner Darrell Jones said of the ferry.

Approximately 13,500 vehicles crossed the river on the ferry last year, according to George.

"We're getting a whole lot more commercial traffic," George said.

Asked by Bennett about where ferry customers come from, George estimated that about 85 percent are "just passing through" from outside of the area.

George said a large group recently rode the ferry from Kentucky, stepped off the barge when it reached Dorena, then got back on the ferry "just so they could say they've been to Missouri, then ride back."

George said July 19 marked 20 years on the Port Authority Board for him.