The Cave-in-Rock Ferry remains closed this week due to high water on the Ohio River.Shirley Lewis, manager of the Cave-in-Rock Ferry office in southern Illinois, said Wednesday morning the ferry will be closed at least a week, probably longer. The ferry connects Crittenden County and Hardin County, Ill. It normally operates from 6 a.m., to 10 p.m., and carries about 500 vehicles per day, many of them commuters going to and coming from work on either side of the river.
The Ohio River is expected to crest at 49.5 feet at Shawnteetown Tuesday. However, additional rainfall will change that prediction, Lewis said. Flood stage is 33 feet.
"One thing you can't hardly predict is the river," Lewis said.
The river was at 44.5 feet Wednesday. The ferry cannot operate once the river is between 42 and 43 feet at Shawneetown.
Water is over Ky. 91 on the ferry approach in Crittenden County and its up to the edge of the parking lot on the Illinois side of the river, Lewis said.
"Once the river crests it will take a while for it to fall out," she added.
Debris floating in the river can also create hazards for the ferry even when the water starts receding.
While flooding remains serious along the river, it's still nowhere near the levels of the 1937 flood when the river went to 61.5 feet at Shawneetown.
In the tiny river town of Tolu, the rising water starts creeping into some buildings when it gets to 50 feet. At 52, some houses are in jeopardy.
The inset photograph is of the ferry operating during normal river conditions.
