PORT TOWNSEND — The first phase in a state ferry terminal preservation project — $580,000 in emergency repairs to the Water Street terminal’s ferry tie-up slip — could begin in December or January, an official said Friday.
“As far as the Port Townsend terminal is concerned, pretty much every aspect of it is in need of repair,” said Joy Goldenberg, Washington State Ferries public involvement manager, who met early last week with Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce manager Tim Caldwell to discuss the terminal.
A state ferries engineer said initial cost estimates for overall terminal preservation and expansion are about $20 million.
Goldenberg said she and others with the ferry system plan to begin meeting with community and business leaders and other interested parties in the spring and summer to discuss the terminal’s future needs — including expansion of its vehicle lineup situation.
Moving the slips further offshore will lay groundwork for future expansion of vehicle holding, which will reduce traffic congestion down Sims Way and Water Street.
Extending ferry slips
The long-term expansion project, which would extend the ferry slips out 100 feet to enlarge vehicle holding-area parking and prevent ferries from scouring eelgrass beds, is years away, Goldenberg and other system officials stressed.
Extending slips into deeper water will reduce the effect of propeller wash on eelgrass habitat, said Goldenberg.
Expansion of the terminal could take at least five years to complete and could more than double the holding space, now at 62 vehicles.
The immediate need, said Goldenberg, is to preserve the existing terminal. That involves emergency replacement of the short wingwalls on the tie-up slip.
