PORT ANGELES — A trip to Victoria will get a whole lot easier come Monday.
The MV Coho ferry will be back in service after a two-month hiatus for construction of a new wharf at its Canadian terminal, Black Ball Ferry Line President Ryan Burles said Thursday.
The Coho’s first passenger sailing since Jan. 3 is scheduled to leave Port Angeles at 8:20 a.m. Monday.
It will resume multiple daily trips across the Strait of Juan de Fuca from its terminal at the foot of Laurel Street to the Inner Harbour of the British Columbia capital.
Crews on the Victoria side were busy this week completing a $17.4 million project in Canadian dollars to replace the aging wooden dock off Belleville Street.
“They’re working very hard to get the site ready,” Burles said Thursday.
Hydraulic ramps were being tested, pilings were being drilled and fill was being graded for the new raised dock.
Two-thirds of the dock will be paved Saturday, and the rest will be paved in May, Burles said.
The vehicle ramp was lengthened and widened. A covered walkway was added for foot passengers.
“It will be sharper-looking and cleaner-looking, but most of the real work is all underneath you,” Burles said of the new terminal.
Port Angeles work
On the Port Angeles side, crews used the downtime to complete upgrades to the mooring dolphins, a cluster of piles used for mooring vessels.
The break in service also coincided with the vessel’s annual dry dock for maintenance.
The 57-year-old ferry is typically out of service for 17 days in late January and early February, Burles said.
Chartered flights on three- and five-seat planes are the only other direct means of transportation from Port Angeles to Vancouver Island.
The ferry will make two daily trips to Victoria, the second being at 2 p.m. for the 90-minute crossing.
Return sailings are scheduled to leave Victoria at 10:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Additional trips will be added May 19.
Last year, the Coho had about 405,000 passenger trips.
Burles predicted modest growth this year, particularly from American foot traffic, because of the increased value of the U.S. dollar in Canada.
‘At Par’ promotion
At the same time, some 30 businesses in Port Angeles are offering financial incentives to Canadian visitors with an “At Par” promotion through March and April.
Robert Utz, general manager of the Red Lion Hotel, sparked the idea of offering to accept the Canadian dollar at par through March and April to offset the strength of the U.S. dollar to the loonie.
The Canadian dollar closed up 0.15 of a U.S. cent to 74 cents U.S. on Friday.
For information on the Black Ball Ferry Line, including fares and travel packages, click on www.cohoferry.com.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
