Group hopes to get ferry on Missouri River going

Bettine Clemen played one of her more than 75 types of flutes in her home near Seymour, Mo. The internationally known flutist makes her home with her husband in the Ozarks hills.The Associated Press

MOKANE, Mo. -- Supporters of what would be the only ferry along the Missouri River in the state say it would shorten commute times between Osage and Callaway counties and increase tourism.

Judy Miller, spokeswoman for the Chamois Industrial Development Corp., which is pushing for the ferry between Chamois in Osage County and a yet-to-be-decided Callaway County city, said the project would cost between $750,000 and $1 million. Currently, drivers in the area must use the bridge in Jefferson City to get across the Missouri River.

Proponents hope to use a tugboat and barge for passenger and commercial transport, reducing travel times for Callaway County residents traveling to Jefferson City while making Fulton and Columbia more accessible to Osage County residents. A ferry also could be used for summer river excursions, making it a tourist attraction, they say.

One-way fares would cost about $3.50, though Miller said round-trip tickets and season passes could be sold at a discount.

The group hopes to have the ferry running by spring 2004, in time for the bicentennial celebration of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

The Chamois group is negotiating with a landowner in Steedman for a possible ferry slip in that Callaway County town, Miller said. The group has asked for a feasibility study by an engineering group to detail costs by month's end.

The development corporation has received $5,000 in private donations and is applying for a federal ferry grant through the Missouri Department of Transportation as well as a rural business enterprise grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The last ferry in the area operated until about 1970, used by a farmer to ship crops and supplies. A century earlier, ferry lines are believed to have provided a direct link to the Missouri Pacific Railroad line in Chamois.

"There used to be a lot of ferries up and down the Missouri River, but when the highway bridge was put up in Jefferson City they became obsolete," said George Kishmar Jr. of Chamois, son of the town historian.