Ferry dock construction means disruptions in Port Townsend

Published 12:01 am Monday, November 5, 2012

PORT TOWNSEND — A construction project to update the Port Townsend Ferry Terminal is scheduled to begin next week and will cause some disruption before it is finished in 2013.

A new transfer span, the floating bridge between the dock and the ferries, will replace the current ramps that were built in 1982 and are at the end of their life spans, according to the state ferry system.

The $5.5 million project is being built in two phases.

The $2.3 million fabrication contract was awarded to American Construction Co. of Tacoma on March 20, with off-site work beginning Aug. 9. The $3.3 million installation contract also was awarded to American.

The updated span is expected to cut operational costs since the new design is simpler and requires fewer staff members to operate, the state said.

This project also brings the transfer span up to current seismic, mechanical and electrical standards.

The construction will replace the ramps one slip at a time, causing a traffic redirection for vehicles waiting to take the ferry across Admiralty Inlet from Port Townsend to Coupeville on Whidbey Island.

Work on Slip 1 will begin the week of Nov. 12, requiring vehicular traffic to use the narrower Slip 2 for several months.

Drivers and pedestrians are advised to use caution during single-lane loading and offloading and to watch for construction equipment while on the dock.

Holding lane staging will be adjusted to enable large trucks to drive straight onto the vessel at Slip 2, the ferries system said.

Truck traffic will be limited on each sailing.

Reservations for vehicles more than 30 feet in length or more than 7 feet, 6 inches in height are recommended for the duration of the project.

Tall spaces for drive-up or standby traffic also will be limited.

For more information, see http://tinyurl.com/bc57lmv.