Project news

• New! On Aug. 13, construction crews placed the final pre-cast concrete panel on the new trestle. This wraps up four years of construction to build the new structure, a key element of the overall project. See details in the news release. 
• Find out about the crane that will be working from the Bremerton route vehicle holding lanes beginning the week of Aug. 23.
• As a reminder, the Marion Street vehicle ­­exit is closed into fall 2021. All vehicles and bikes exiting Colman Dock exit through Yesler Way, which may cause delays off-loading ferries during peak times. There will be no changes or impacts to people walking on the ferry.
• Stay informed about the latest changes for customers and sign up for rider alerts.
• The City of Seattle is rebuilding Seattle’s central waterfront. Find out the latest information about the Waterfront Seattle Project and construction progress on the waterfront.

Overview

Washington State Ferries is replacing the aging and seismically vulnerable Colman Dock in Seattle in order to maintain its critical role as a regional multimodal transportation hub.

• View photos and video of crews building your new Colman Dock.
• Find out how we are protecting salmon and wildlife while setting construction milestones.

The end result

Key project elements include:

• Replacing the existing timber trestle portion of the dock with a new concrete and steel trestle
• Replacing the main terminal building and constructing a new entry building on Alaskan Way that will include retail space
• Replacing the passenger-only ferry facility on the south edge of Colman Dock with funding from King County to serve the King County Water Taxi and the Kitsap Fast Ferry
• Constructing a new elevated walkway between the terminal building and the passenger-only ferry facility
• Replacing the overhead loading facility on the northernmost slip (Slip 3)
• Adding a bicycle entry and holding area north of Marion Street
• Providing a temporary pedestrian connection across Alaskan Way at Columbia Street during construction
• Building a new elevated connection between the new terminal building and the new pedestrian bridge at Marion Street  
• Providing stairs and elevators to connect the facility to Alaskan Way 
• Mitigating for additional overwater coverage* 

*While avoiding and minimizing new overwater coverage was a key goal of the project, the new facility will increase the overwater footprint by approximately 5,400 square feet. Mitigation for this increase in overwater coverage will be achieved by removing overwater coverage from a neighboring WSDOT-owned pier.

Needs & Benefits

The project will:

• Ensure that the Colman Dock facility can continue to provide safe and reliable ferry service between Seattle and communities in Kitsap County and the Olympic Peninsula
• Improve safety by meeting current seismic standards
• Improve circulation and accessibility for people walking, biking and driving and reduce conflicts between vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians to improve safety and operations
• Remove approximately 5,000 tons of creosote-treated timber piles from Elliott Bay
• Open up an area of shoreline and near-shore habitat north of the new trestle, recovering approximately 14,000 square feet of shallow water habitat area, allowing macro algae and benthic organisms to recolonize and provide a high-quality migration corridor along the shoreline for juvenile salmonids
• Provide stormwater treatment using Filterra® filtration for all new and replaced areas of the trestle to separate oil, water, and suspended solids
• Expand the sediment cap to seal contaminated sediments under the new trestle areas and north to Seattle Fire Station No. 5, covering approximately 4.5 acres  

Timeline

• 2012-2015 – Environmental process/preliminary design
• 2015-2017 – Final design and permitting
• Summer 2017-2023 – Construction
  • Summer 2019 – New passenger-only ferry terminal opens on south side of dock
  • September 2019 – South portion of new passenger terminal opens to the public

The terminal will remain open throughout construction, which is expected to wrap up in 2023.

While the terminal and all ferry operations will be available and maintained throughout construction, customers can expect changes to how vehicles, passengers and bicycles load and unload.

Disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) program

We selected Hoffman-Pacific, a Joint Venture, as the General Contractor/Construction Manager in fall 2015 and they have committed to maximizing opportunities for DBE firms. WSDOT has established a DBE goal of 12% of the project’s Maximum Allowable Construction Cost (MACC).

For questions about DBE opportunities on this project:
Andrew Powell, Hoffman-Pacific Project Manager
Andrew-Powell@Hoffmancorp.com
206-286-6697

For information about certification and WSDOT’s DBE supportive services:
WSDOT Office of Equal Opportunity
1-888-259-9143

Funding

• $467 million in federal, state and local funding has been appropriated for this project.
• King County provided funding for replacement of the passenger-only ferry facility.

With $467 million in secured funding, we will replace the seismically-vulnerable elements of the facility to preserve Colman Dock’s core functions. This budget also funds the new terminal, an entry building, pedestrian plaza and bicycle facility.