Project news

• Take a virtual tour of the new Mukilteo ferry terminal (YouTube video 2:37).
• Work continues on the new terminal, holding lanes, tollboths, transit center, and First Street.
• Our marine contractor left the site, as scheduled in March, and will return when the next fish window opens this August. 
• Subscribe to our email listserv to learn more about the project.
• See the latest construction photos.

Overview
The Mukilteo/Clinton ferry route is part of State Route 525, the major transportation corridor connecting Whidbey Island to the Seattle-Everett metropolitan area. It is one of the state's busiest routes, with more than 4 million total riders every year. By 2040, walk-on ridership during the peak afternoon commute is expected to increase 124 percent (2010-2040).

The Mukilteo ferry terminal is aging and hasn't seen significant improvements since the early 1980s. Components of the terminal do not meet seismic standards and its layout contributes to traffic congestion, safety concerns, and conflicts between walk-on and drive-on traffic. The new terminal, one-third of a mile east, will improve safety by meeting current seismic standards. It will also improve transit connections and passenger safety while streamlining passenger loading and opening the Mukilteo waterfront up to residents.

The site that used to house an abandoned U.S. Air Force fueling station will soon be home to a ferry building designed to be light on the earth and LEED Silver certified. Removing that old fueling pier also eliminated thousands of tons of toxic creosote-treated debris from Puget Sound. The existing ferry terminal remains open and the Mukilteo/Clinton ferry service unchanged during construction. 

The Mukilteo Multimodal Ferry Terminal project includes:

• Passenger building and maintenance building
• Passenger overhead loading
• Toll plaza with four toll booths and seven vehicle holding lanes
• In-water docking and loading structures
• Transit center for connections to buses and trains
• Signalized intersection and expanded vehicle holding area to reduce congestion on SR 525.
• Waterfront promenade that will link up to a city park
• Transit center located near the Sounder Commuter Rail Station

The new terminal will:

• Improve safety and accessibility for pedestrians, vehicles and bicycles
• Be ADA compliant
• Improve the efficiency and reliability of ferry operations, including vehicle and passenger loading and unloading
• Improve transit connections for riders who travel without a car and help ensure reliable multimodal connections 
• Reduce the ferry-related congestion along Mukilteo’s central waterfront
• Provide public access to the Mukilteo waterfront

Timeline

• 2010-2014 – Environmental process
• 2014-2016 – Final design
• July 2015-February 2016 – Construction phase 1, decontaminating the worksite. 
• September 2017-2020 – Construction phase 2
  • September 2017-September 2018 – Trestle and bridge seat
  • January-October 2018 – Deep stormwater utilities
  • December 2018 - Contract for uplands work awarded to IMCO Construction. (In-water marine components of the project to be advertised to contractors in 2019.)
  • Early 2019-2020 – Main terminal building, maintenance building, holding lanes, toll plaza, and landscaping
  • Fall 2019 - In-water work begins
  • Late 2020 – New terminal opens (schedule adjusted to account for COVID-related work stoppage)
  • Early-mid 2021 – Remove existing terminal (schedule adjusted to account for COVID-related work stoppage) 

Funding

$187.3 million dollars in federal and state funding has been appropriated for this project.