GRAFTON - The City of Grafton will soon have a ferry that runs seven days a week, 16 hours a day.
Mayor Mike Morrow explained that the city recently won a $1.48 million grant from the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to operate the ferry, connecting Grafton with the St. Charles, Missouri, area. Morrow believes the new ferry will boost tourism and also allow people to find jobs in the St. Louis region with an easier commute.
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“This is exceptional news, not just for Grafton, but for the entire region. As far as transportation, tying people together and so forth — it’s just exceptional,” Morrow said. “We’re just very blessed here in this little city.”
Morrow noted that one of his 2021 campaign goals was to get a ferry operating seven days a week. In 2023, Grafton won a $250,000 IDOT grant to study the ferry system, including the Calhoun ferry and other regional ferries in the area.
After this study, Grafton established a Ferry Task Force to further assess the need for a ferry. Grafton resident George Andres led the task force. The team applied for several state and federal grants over the past year, and they were recently awarded the $1.48 million IDOT grant.
Now, Morrow, Andres and the city are meeting with attorneys to finalize the operating and purchase agreements. Within the next month, they plan to host a public hearing session so Grafton residents can provide their input.
The Grafton City Council will then vote to approve the ferry’s purchase and operations in November or December. Morrow said they hope to have it up and running by April 10, 2026.
He emphasized that the ferry will allow people to commute more easily between Missouri and Illinois. Not only will this provide more workers to businesses like Amazon in Missouri, but it will also allow Riverbend residents to find jobs. He noted that the ferry has the potential to cut down commute times by an hour, as commuters will no longer have to travel to the Calhoun ferry or cross the bridge in Alton.
“That’s going to help out a lot of those big businesses and so on. It’s going to help out a lot of the people here,” Morrow said. “It’s not just a big deal for Grafton, but it’s a big deal for the region.”
More information will be shared as it becomes available.
