PORT TOWNSEND — City officials and Aqua Express have reached an agreement to provide weekend high-speed ferry service between Port Townsend and Seattle while the Hood Canal Bridge is temporarily closed.
The passenger ferry service would be launched for a four-day weekend in August. Weekday ferry service during a second closure is yet to be determined between Port Ludlow and Kingston.
“The only thing stopping us now would be if a 100-year storm shows up,” said Tim Caldwell, Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce general manager.
Caldwell, long a promoter of establishing high-speed foot ferry service between Port Townsend and Seattle, announced the development during Monday’s Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce luncheon meeting at Fort Worden State Park.
The two four-day closures of the North Olympic Peninsula’s major traffic artery would allow bridge contractor Kiewit-General Construction Co. of Poulsbo to replace the floating bridge’s approaches.
New roadways
The bridge closures are needed to replace each end of the bridge with a new roadway now under construction next to the existing bridge approaches.
During the closures the contractor will place the existing roadway on rollers, roll that existing roadway onto temporary supports, and roll the new wider roadway into place.
Staging the work in this manner will reduce the bridge closure time from about a year to just two three-day closures, the state Department of Transportation has said.
The work is in preparation of the bridge’s eastern-half replacement, now tentatively scheduled for 2009.
Caldwell said Puget Sound Energy, the city of Port Townsend, Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce and Jefferson Transit have agreed to financially support the weekend ferry run to help underwrite the cost of the boat service.
A round trip will be $15 and one way is $7.50, the chamber official said.