SALEM — The Daniel Matheny V ferry — aka the Wheatland Ferry — for decades has borne hundreds of people per day while talk and planning on a third bridge for the area has dragged on.

The ferry crossing just north of Willamette Mission State Park is the only way cars can cross the Willamette River between the Marion Street Bridge and Highway 219 near Newberg. The drive between the bridges is about 40 minutes.

“In terms of fuel, it’s still a bargain for two bucks across,” said senior ferry operator Ed Watson.

An average one-way daily count of vehicles boarding Daniel Matheny V is 950 vehicles in the summer and 850 vehicles in the winter, Watson said.

On days the ferry closes, it affects hundreds of people. However, a recent, annual summer dredging should help keep it open seven days per week, he added.

Daryl Kottek, of Keizer, for three years has used the ferry to take his daughter, Tiffany, to softball practice twice a week.

“It’s peaceful,” he said. “From a driver’s standpoint, you don’t have to think about anything when you go across the river. It’s like three minutes of bliss.”

Marion County crews a few weeks ago finished dredging, which removed gravel buildup that would otherwise render water levels too low for the ferry to operate, Watson said.

When Daniel Matheny V replaced its 43-year-old predecessor in 2002, maintenance seemed to beach it regularly, Watson said. He said operations have greatly improved.

“We worked very hard to make this a reliable ferry,” Watson said.

Rick Myers’ commute between Amity and Woodburn is frustrating when the ferry’s not running, as it was recently, sending him on a regrettable trip through Salem.

“I got stuck at the train for 30 minutes,” Myers said.

Watson lamented that maintenance shut down the ferry for 12 days this June.

The number of off days varies depending on maintenance or weather. Flooding, water levels above 15.8 feet or water levels below about 5 feet can close the ferry, Watson said.

One year, Daniel Matheny V docked for 112 days because of flooding. Another year, the ferry shut down four days, Watson said.

Watson said the Wheatland ferry bears nine cars at a time or a combination of vehicles equal to 80,000 pounds across a span of 450 to 550 feet, depending on water levels.

Taking the ride across the water is a tradition predating Oregon’s statehood in 1859.

Pioneer Daniel Matheny launched the Wheatland ferry in 1844, eight years before Independence-area Buena Vista ferry debuted.

Buena Vista, open seven months of the year and five days per week, will close for construction Aug. 15, opening again in April 2011, Watson said.

A $3.2 million federal grant will pay to replace the four-car Buena Vista ferry with a six-car ferry and will afford shoreline improvements.

The two vessels are relatively new but serve as a link to the past as some of the last cable-guided ferries in the nation.

“It’s a job many men worked at years before me,” said Watson, who has been an operator since 1995.