The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development recently launched the new M/V Holly Beach ferry into service – one of two new ferry boats being built for the agency to serve Cameron Crossing in Cameron Parish.
[Above photo by Louisiana DOTD]
This $49.7 million project will replace the M/V Cameron II, which has been in service since it was built in 1964, with the M/V Holly Beach and M/V Cameron. Each of the new boats will measure 190 feet by 50 feet by 13 feet and the M/V Cameron is expected to be completed and placed into service in late November.
The agency noted that putting these two new boats in service will ensure uninterrupted loading and unloading of large commercial vehicles across the Calcasieu Ship Channel.
Currently, if the M/V Cameron II is out of service for repairs or required dry docking, a temporary side-loading ferry is used.
And because that side-loading vessel cannot accommodate trucks longer than 50 feet, those trucks are forced to detour 100 miles – or more than two hours – around the Calcasieu Ship Channel, Louisiana DOTD said.
“Completing the first of two new ferryboats for the Cameron Crossing marks a major milestone for this project,” said Governor Jeff Landry (R) in a statement.
“We’re replacing an aging ferry that has been in service since the 1960s,” he noted. “Our administration is dedicated to modernizing Louisiana’s infrastructure and attracting economic development through projects like this one.”
“Having a new and reliable ferry service across the Calcasieu Ship Channel is long overdue for the people who live and work in Cameron Parish,” added Glenn Ledet, secretary of the Louisiana DOTD. “Residents and commercial traffic rely on the ferry performing as intended, and these new ferry boats will deliver on that promise.”
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