Rendering of the finished Colman Dock challenge [Image: WSDOT’
Efficient ferry operations depend on terminals as well as ferryboats (something that will be on the agenda at our upcoming FERRIES event) and America’s largest ferry operator — Washington State Ferries — is set to opens a new “front door” at its flagship Colman Dock terminal on the Seattle waterfront. When the facilities new entry building and elevated walkway open tomorrow, walk-on passengers will be able to seamlessly connect to the ferry from Alaskan Way.
Crews began construction work in 2017 to replace the seismically vulnerable terminal at Colman Dock. Throughout six years of construction on the Colman Dock Project, WSF has maintained ferry service on two of its busiest routes, but passengers have been shifted around the facility to make way for construction.
Ferry riders will be able to finally enjoy the project as envisioned, with:
- Seamless connections that include elevators and stairs from Alaskan Way.
- New ticket and info booths on the elevated level.
- 20,500 square feet of public space with benches where they can enjoy city and water views while awaiting the ferry.
Work continues near Colman Dock on several elements, led by the city’s Seattle Waterfront office:
- Removing a temporary lane on Alaskan Way, allowing vehicles to enter Colman Dock at Alaskan and Yesler ways (instead of staging at Pier 48).
- New Marion Street Pedestrian Bridge over Alaskan Way.
- Completion of street, sidewalk, and utility work in front of the entry building. When complete, a passenger pick-up and drop-off area and taxi parking will open.
“Washington State Ferries is thrilled to welcome our passengers to the new entry building and elevated pedestrian connector,” said David Sowers, WSF’s director of terminal engineering. “Our flagship terminal on the waterfront is a gateway to Bremerton, Bainbridge Island and the Kitsap and Olympic peninsulas. Our customers have shown patience and flexibility during six years of construction. Now they can experience the benefits, amenities and expansive views.”
Built in stages as the old terminal building was torn down, the new facility improves safety by meeting current seismic standards and provides more efficient passenger circulation and queuing. This video highlights some of the technology in the new facility.
The Colman Dock multimodal project connects to a regional bicycle path, King County Metro buses, fast ferries for King County and Kitsap Transit and Sound Transit’s light rail stations on Third Avenue.
Since construction work began the project has:
- Built a new passenger-only ferry terminal on the south side of Colman Dock for the King County Water Taxi and Kitsap Transit that opened in August 2019.
- Built an elevated walkway between the terminal building and the passenger-only ferry facility, which opened in September 2019.
- Completed a new overhead loading passenger structure for slip 3 on the north end of the terminal that also opened in September 2019.
- Replaced the timber trestle portion of the dock with a new concrete and steel trestle for vehicle staging and loading/unloading, finishing that work in August 2021.
- Opened the full passenger terminal building in November 2022.
GETTING WIRED
The new terminal is, of course, loaded with all kinds of ticketing and information sharing technology, The video below gives some insights into what that has involved.
