By Cynthia Haggitt
The Kampsville River Ferry transports passengers and their vehicles across the Illinois River 24 hours per day, unless the river is frozen or the water is unusually high. The boat, operated by the Illinois Department of Transportation, connects IL-108 from the western bank (Calhoun County) to the eastern bank (Greene County) of the river.
The convenience of the ferry is crucial for residents and travelers . It is the quickest way to get across the river when heading out for a motorist’s said destination.
The Illinois Department of Transportation is scheduled to close the Kampsville Ferry for almost three weeks (17 days exactly) to make improvements and repairs to the Ferry’s landings on both sides of the Illinois River.
The scheduled closing will begin maintenance on Sept 13 . Its closure is expected to last until Sept 30.
Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) Public Affairs Officer Paul Wappell said that automobilists will see changes to the approaches after the repairs are made.
The project includes reconstruction of the approach roadway ramps to the Kampsville Ferry – one ramp on each side of the Illinois River.
“Reconstruction of the parking lots,sidewalks will be made ADA compliant. They will have new lighting facilities and pavement markings and both approaches, roadways, ramps on each side of the river,” Wappel said. “The reconstruction involves removing the old pavement and replacing it with new, more substantial concrete pavement for resurfacing the ramps and doing repairs.”
The following detour will be in place:
Westbound traffic on Illinois 108: At Eldred, go south on S. Hillview/Eldred Road to Illinois 16/100 westbound to Illinois 100 northbound to Kampsville.
Eastbound traffic on Illinois 108: At Kampsville, go south on Illinois 100 to Illinois 16/100 eastbound to S. Hillview/Eldred Road northbound to Eldred.
Residents in the area will have to travel approximately 10 miles south to Hardin to cross the Joe Page Bridge to pass over the Illinois River during construction. The overall project is expected to be complete in summer of 2022. Drivers should be alert and obey the construction signs. Motorists should follow the signed detour during the complete closure. The contractor on this project is the Keeley & Sons, Inc. of East St. Louis, Illinois.For IDOT District 8 updates, follow us on Twitter at @IDOTDistrict8 or view area construction details on IDOT’s traveler information map on GettingAroundIllinois.com.
