Date:  Friday, May 15, 2009

Contact: Marta Coursey, Communications Director, 206-515-3918

SEATTLE – Memorial Day traditionally means the arrival of summer crowds taking a trip on a Washington State Ferry. The three-day weekend can also mean traffic backups on Friday afternoon and evening westbound and again on Monday, eastbound, as travelers return home. Customers should make their plans now, arrive early for their sailings, and be prepared for extra wait time at the terminals.

Vehicle reservations on the Port Townsend/Keystone route have been very popular since the closure of the SR 104 Hood Canal Bridge on May 1. Sailings have been booked far in advance. Vehicle reservations are full for all sailings from Keystone on Friday, May 22, and for all sailings from Port Townsend on Monday, May 25. There are still many sailings with vehicle reservations available on Saturday and Sunday in both directions; visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries to make reservations. Please note that if a sailing time appears in gray, there are no reservations available for that sailing. Customers can arrive at the terminal early to see if they can travel standby, but there is a limited amount of space on the dock to hold standby customers, and standbys may have to wait for two or more sailings until space is available for them to travel.

WSF advises Port Townsend/Keystone customers that several morning sailings will be cancelled during Memorial Day weekend due to low tides and ebb currents. The schedule for the cancelled sailings is available at www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries (enter “tide cancellations” in the search box).

Customers on the Mukilteo/Clinton route should expect long waits at the terminals on Thursday and Friday evenings, May 21 and 22, starting at 4 p.m. Travelers to the San Juan Islands should expect particularly long waits at the terminals during the holiday weekend as well.

The following routes will be on holiday schedule on Monday, May 25:

• Point Defiance/Tahlequah
• Seattle/Bainbridge Island
• Edmonds/Kingston
• Mukilteo/Clinton

There will be no passenger-only service between Seattle and Vashon Island on Monday, May 25.

For more ferry system information, please visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries. To sign up for free e-mail alerts about service disruptions and other route information, click on the link in the far left column of the Web site.

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WSDOT keeps people, businesses and the economy moving by operating and improving the state's transportation systems. To learn more about what we're doing, go to www.wsdot.wa.gov/news for pictures, videos, news and blogs. Real time traffic information is available at www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic or by dialing 5-1-1.

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