The ferry planned to cross the Mississippi River between Nauvoo, Illinois and Montrose, Iowa will not make its maiden voyage this summer as planned.
Randy Douglas with the Nauvoo River Experience says the ferry won't be running until April of 2015.
“Because of delays in getting approvals and other things that they wouldn’t be able to start construction until sometime in June," Douglas said. "And since it takes 60 to 90 days to build the boat wouldn’t be ready until September perhaps and then it just doesn’t make sense. So we’re just going to delay the construction of the boat.”
Douglas says waiting will eliminate the financial burden of keeping and maintaining the ferry over the winter.
Oquawka Boatsin Oquawka, Illinois has been commissioned to build the 60-passenger, walk-on ferry.
The U.S. Coast Guard has not yet signed off on the proposal. The project has been in the works for three years. Both Nauvoo and Montrose support it.
