CAVE-IN-ROCK – The Cave-in-Rock Ferry will be in business for the foreseeable future.

Team Kentucky and partners at the Illinois Department of Transportation announced Saturday that a new two-year agreement was reached between The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and the Ohio River Ferry Authority in Crittenden County, KY. All three groups have been engaged in getting an agreement done before the current contract expired, which would have been Sunday, June 30. 

The Crittenden County Fiscal Court created the ferry authority to oversee the management and operation of the private ferry service, which is equally funded by Kentucky and Illinois.

KYTC and the ferry authority agreed to a 13% increase in annual funding – the contract is now $1,878,060 each year – while updating terms of the agreement to ensure alignment with the state’s procurement regulations and providing more transparency regarding how state funds are used to support the ferry.

The Cave-in-Rock Ferry carries about 300 vehicles per day at no cost to travelers between Cave-in-Rock, IL, and Marion, KY.

Drivers were looking at having to use the KY 56 Shawneetown Bridge to get to their destination if ferry service had been shut down today due to no agreement. It would have added 35 minutes to their driving time to get to their destination.