PORT TOWNSEND — A contract to build two Island Home-model ferries for the Port Townsend-Keystone route will be advertised beginning today, a Washington State Ferries spokeswoman said.
Work on the first of the two 64-car ferries could start as early as November, and the ferries could be completed in mid-2010, depending upon how soon the state awards a contract and construction begins, said Hadley Greene, state ferries communications manager.
Bids will be opened Nov. 6, she said.
“The current schedule said that first construction would start upon contract award, and take 18 months,” Greene said.
She added that the second ferry would have to be built in time to go into service six months after the first ferry is completed and operational.
The contract proposal calls for a bid on an optional third vessel, but Greene said it had not been determined how the vessel would be used.
Only two vessels would be needed for the Port Townsend-Keystone route to return the run to the service it had before the aging Steel Electric ferries were pulled in November for safety reasons, and the route was reduced to one boat.
With two ferries, boats would leave every 45 minutes during peak use.
The state ferries system will advertise the contract in the Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce for bid opening at the state ferries office in Seattle, Greene said
Modifications to the Island Home-model contract to meet the specifications of the Port Townsend-Keystone route also are to be posted today on the state ferries Web site at www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries.
