PORT LUDLOW — A Jefferson County committee wants state officials to provide ferry service to Port Ludlow, rather than South Point, when part of the Hood Canal Bridge is replaced in 2006.
The planned South Point ferry service is part of a $10 million state Department of Transportation mitigation effort that includes foot-ferry service to Port Gamble, but omits car ferries between Port Townsend and Edmonds or Kingston.
The committee — created by four Jefferson County governments to review the Transportation bridge work mitigation plan — and area business owners fear the plan does not go far enough in maintaining Clallam and Jefferson counties as viable tourism destinations during the closure, which could last as long as eight weeks.
So, the committee proposed the Port Ludlow service as well as special excursions linking Seattle to Port Townsend.
A third auto ferry between Port Townsend and Keystone is also being considered, said John Callahan, Transportation’s Hood Canal Bridge project manager.
During a meeting Friday, committee member Port Townsend City Manager David Timmons said Transportation’s plan develops temporary solutions when permanent options are available.
“We already have a facility in place there,” Timmons said of amenities in Port Ludlow. “It doesn’t make sense just to invest in temporary improvements.
“If we build permanent infrastructure, we’ll have a long-term strategy if the bridge breaks down again.”
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