Residents on both sides of the St. Clair River are suffering without a ferry to connect them

A Canadian flag covered in signatures hangs in Anita's Riverfront Grille in Marine City, Mich., a symbol of the strong relationship between the city and its neighbours in Sombra, Ont. directly across the St. Clair River.

That flag was given to the restaurant's namesake decades ago, after Canadians who often crossed to the U.S. to dine held a fundraiser to save the eatery which had burned down in a fire.

John Stewart, who runs Anita's now, said the two cities are like sisters, but for the first time in generations, the bond that's held them so close is broken.

• Shifting ice from icebreaker crushes ferry causeway south of Sarnia, threatening family business

The future of the Bluewater Ferry is unsure after ice reportedly pushed by a passing Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker crushed the causeway leading up to its dock earlier this month.

"Sombra is extended family of those who live in Marine City," said Stewart. "It's devastating. We hope that it can come back soon."

Repairs are estimated at $2.5 million, a sum the Dalgety brothers who own the fifth-generation family business say will be impossible to cover without support from the federal government — and time to save the ferry is running out.

Time to save ferry is running out

Sarnia-Lambton MP Marilyn Gladu worked with the ferry's owners and area engineers to come up with a plan to replace the shattered causeway with a series of culverts that would allow water and ice to flow under the roadway. 

She has been pleading the ferry's case to the Ministry of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, and maintains funding must be in place by Jan. 31 to allow time for construction to be completed before the fish spawning season ends all work in the river on March 15.

• Government has 10 days to save ice-damaged ferry south of Sarnia, says MP

In a statement emailed to CBC News, ministry spokesperson Laura Gareau described the situation in Sombra as "extremely unfortunate."

"Federal departments have been diligently looking into whether there are federal programs that a company may access in order to help facilitate repairs for a privately owned causeway," she added. "Should any federal programs be available that the owner of this causeway may be eligible to apply for, we will ensure that they are immediately brought to their attention."

Unsatisfied with the response from the ministry, Gladu recently elevated her request for help to the Prime Minister's Office.

It creates a situation where I have to choose between time with my business or time with the family.- Mark Smith, owner of Waste Wood Disposal in Dresden, Ont.

A representative from the Prime Minister's Office confirmed the office had been in contact with Gladu, but directed further questions about the ferry back to the ministry.

"We have to make some noise on this issue for them to understand how incredibly important this is," explained Gladu. "Jobs are impacted, residents are impacted too and it's an important trade crossing."

For Stewart, losing the Bluewater Ferry could mean losing out on crowds of Canadian customers.

"It's probably 40 per cent of my business and it's a challenging time right now to make it viable," he said. "It truly does mean more to the people on both sides of the water than somebody's private business. It really is a main artery that connects the two cities and the two countries."

The cost of closing  the ferry could be even higher for Mark Smith.

The Dresden, Ont. business owner is married to a woman who lives with her children in Marine City — losing the Sombra crossing leaves him with a difficult choice.

"It creates a situation where I have to choose between time with my business or time with the family," he explained. "I would have to stay over there for three to four days ... to keep the cost of going back and forth down."

Smith said without the ferry he'll have to cross at the Bluewater Bridge in Sarnia, which will add at least an hour to his daily commutes, not to mention an increase in fuel costs and the potential business his company, Waste Wood Disposal, could have easily added by shipping goods to Michigan.

"What are they going to do when the bridge has hiccups?" he added. "I've seen a simple accident up there on the 402 back that traffic up there for hours so they ship them on down to Sombra to get across. If that's gone what's going to happen then?"

Robert Dalgety, one of the brothers who owns the ferry business, said the family has a plan and engineers ready to rebuild the causeway, all they need now is financial support.

"We have hope. We would never cross anything off. We've done all we can on our end … now we're just waiting."