No vehicle service on Bainbridge Island ferry route as walkway construction moves ahead

Nathan Pilling, Kitsap Sun
·2 min read
Passengers head for the walkway off the Washington State Ferries vessel Tacoma at the Bainbridge Island ferry terminal on Aug. 3.
Passengers head for the walkway off the Washington State Ferries vessel Tacoma at the Bainbridge Island ferry terminal on Aug. 3.

BAINBRIDGE ISLAND — Washington State Ferries plans to shut down vehicle service on its Bainbridge Island-Seattle run for roughly a week starting Sept. 7 while work crews move new passenger walkway spans into place at the ferry terminal in Winslow.

The work will take place from 1 a.m. on Sept. 7 through 3 a.m. on Sept. 13. During that stretch, the route will operate on a one-boat schedule that serves only passengers. Motorcycles, bicycles and electric scooters also won’t be allowed on the route during that time, the agency said.

Four walkway spans, which weigh 114 tons and extend out 339 feet, will be barged into Eagle Harbor and staged in what is normally space for vehicles at the terminal before cranes haul them into place, the agency said.

The new walkway stretch is expected to open this fall ahead of demolition of the old overhead walkway, which is more than 50 years old and mounted atop wood piles. The project is slated to be finished early next year.

This diagram shows how work crews will use the vehicle loading areas at the Washington State Ferries terminal on Bainbridge Island in the coming days.
This diagram shows how work crews will use the vehicle loading areas at the Washington State Ferries terminal on Bainbridge Island in the coming days.

“It'll be nicer once that’s done, but like when you remodel your house, it’s hard to be in every room at the same time,” said Washington State Ferries spokesperson Ian Sterling. “We’ll do it quick and efficiently, but we have to shut down the holding lanes and the way on and off the ferry to get these parts delivered and installed.”

“If there was another way to do it, we would,” he added.

Sterling noted that the agency is offering some mitigation in the form of a third boat that will be added to the state's Kingston-Edmonds run during the closure.

Passengers wait to board the Washington State Ferries vessel Tacoma as other passengers disembark the vessel at Bainbridge Island ferry terminal on Aug. 3.
Passengers wait to board the Washington State Ferries vessel Tacoma as other passengers disembark the vessel at Bainbridge Island ferry terminal on Aug. 3.

Bainbridge Island Fire Department Chief Jared Moravec confirmed that Washington State Ferries has made plans to accommodate emergency vehicles during the closure. In 2022, 15% of the department’s EMS transports went to Seattle, he said.

“(Washington State Ferries has) been very proactive in their communication, planning for this event next week with us,” he said. “They have an emergency plan in place that they’ve coordinated with us that provides for emergency vehicle access and for our ability to get aid and medic units onto the ferry to transport patients to Seattle if we need to do that.”

“Other than them being on one-boat service, for us, emergency operations, it’s pretty much business as usual,” he added.

Site work for the new walkway project began last year. The finished loading span for passengers will be similar to ones at the state’s Bremerton and Edmonds ferry terminals. The new ADA-compliant walkway will have seating, operable windows, views out to Eagle Harbor and infrared heaters for cooler months.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Bainbridge Island-Seattle ferry run to pause vehicle service