The Howard Landing Ferry (also called J-Mac, J-Mack Ferry, Steamboat Slough Ferry, or Grand Island Ferry) is a

cable ferry A cable ferry (including the types chain ferry, swing ferry, floating bridge, or punt) is a ferry that is guided (and in many cases propelled) across a river or large body of water by cables connected to both shores. Early cable ferries often ...

that operates between

Ryde Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 24,096 according to the 2021 Census. Its growth as a seaside resort came after the villages of Upper Ryde and ...

and

Ryer Island Ryer Island is an island in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta surrounded by Miner Slough and Steamboat Slough at their confluence with the Sacramento River, 6.5 miles north-northeast of Rio Vista. It is in Solano County, California, and ...

, crossing

Steamboat Slough Steamboat Slough is an alternate branch of the Sacramento River, named for its popular use by steamboats traveling between San Francisco and Sacramento. Its mouth is found at an elevation of , above Rio Vista, between Grand Island and Ryer Isla ...

in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta in

Solano County, California Solano County () is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 453,491. The county seat is Fairfield, California, Fairfield. Solano County comp ...

. The

California Department of Transportation The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an Executive (government), executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the Government of California#State agencies, cabinet-level California State Tran ...

(Caltrans) operates the vehicle

roll-on/roll-off Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, Trailer (vehicle), trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their ...

service, which is classified as part of California State Route 220. The free ferry service operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Boat operators are on duty 24 hours a day to provide service to individual passengers and motorists crossing Steamboat Slough. The ferry is served by the vessel ''J-Mack'' (or J-Mac), a cable drawn ferry that can carry up to six vehicles. Because Steamboat Slough is an active shipping channel, the cable normally sits about underneath the water when the ferry is docked. There is a 15-ton weight limit, tractor-trailers are prohibited, and the length limit is at the discretion of the Coast Guard. Ryer Island is also connected via Highway 84 to the southwest via the Ryer Island Ferry towards Rio Vista, and north via a bridge towards

West Sacramento West Sacramento (also known as West Sac) is a city in Yolo County, California, United States. The city is separated from Sacramento by the Sacramento River, which also separates Sacramento and Yolo counties. The population was 53,915 at the 2 ...

. Both the Howard Landing Ferry and the Ryer Island Ferry are the only state-run ferries, and there are no plans to replace them with bridges due to the low traffic numbers around Ryer Island.

References

Ferries on the California highway system Cable ferries in the United States {{water-transport-stub