Peel Ferry back open during normal hours in Arkansas

The gap between one side of Arkansas Highway 125 and the other is less than a half-mile. But without some help, you're looking at a very long drive.

"That's 100 miles to get there," said Arkansas State Rep. Jack Fortner.

Since the early 1950s, the Peel Ferry has made that commute to the other side of Bull Shoals Lake a lot shorter. The state was given the ferry in the 1970s and made rides free.

"And here it's a fifteen minute ferry ride, and you can go about your business," Fortner said.

At about 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, for the first time in two months, the ferry was up and running its full 14-hour day.

Arkansas cut the ferry's hours from 6-9 a.m. and 3 to 6 p.m. on March 31 because of coronavirus concerns, which impacted many trips.

"There are a lot of people who rely on the ferry to and from," Fortner said.

The Arkansas Department of Transportation also said the average number of cars traveling on the ferry per day dropped from 200 to just 40.

But even with fewer riders, many weren't wearing masks when they got out of their cars, and some motorcycles weren't spacing six feet.​

"We were having problems with some people in public. They weren't complying with what we were asking to do. So the highway police, they started coming and they were on the ferry the entire time it was running," said Steve Lawrence, the district engineer for ARDOT.

The ferry may be back running full-time, but those orders haven't changed. The state views them as a simple request that certainly beats a two-hour drive

"We just ask everybody to observe the rules and do what we ask, so we can all be safe," Lawrence said.

ARDOT saod if you want to ride the ferry, but don't have a mask, they will provide you with one.