The Elwell Ferry will be closed at least through January for scheduled maintenance.

Ken Clark of the N.C. Department of Transportation said the ferry requires a major overhaul every five years or so. The work is generally scheduled for January, he said, since fewer vehicles use the ferry during that month.

“We often have high water in January that forces the ferry to be closed anyway,” Clark said. “We try to arrange it so it inconveniences the fewest people.”

The ferry will be pulled by tugboat to Mann’s Harbor, in Dare County, Clark said. The exact date for the repairs has not been set, he said.

The DOT will take advantage of the shutdown to install some new pipes on the N.C. 87 side of the Elwell Ferry Road, Clark said. The road will be closed to all traffic for several days, and detoured part of the time, he said.

“We’re trying to coordinate all the work we can at the same time,” he said.

The picnic areas and boat ramp will remain open, Clark said, except while the roadwork is in progress.

Elwell Ferry has been in service between Kelly and Carvers Creek since 1905. It is considered the last inland free ferry in North Carolina.