Construction crews recently placed the final 15-ton pre-cast concrete panel on the new trestle, providing a second route for drivers exiting vessels from Bremerton or Bainbridge Island.

Construction crews working for the Washington Department of Transportation recently reached a milestone at Colman Dock.

On Aug. 13, crews placed the final 15-ton pre-cast concrete panel on the new trestle, providing a second route for drivers exiting vessels from Bremerton or Bainbridge Island.

Setting the final panel allows crews to place concrete and complete the trestle portion of the project. This is a culmination of four years of construction, in which crews removed approximately 4,700 tons of creosote-treated wood, installed approximately 500 new steel support piles, placed more than 750 pre-cast concrete panels for the trestle and placed more than 11,000 cu. yds. of concrete for over-water vehicle holding and loading. At completion, there will be 620 spaces for vehicle holding. Eighteen months of this work was completed during the COVID-19 pandemic, which shut down construction for approximately six weeks in spring 2020.

"We are very excited to reach this milestone at our flagship terminal and are now one step closer to opening our second newest terminal in 40 years to millions of Washingtonians and visitors," said Director of Terminal Engineering David Sowers.

"The rebuild of this vital, multimodal hub will address seismic vulnerability and keep people safely moving between key Puget Sound locations," added Sowers. "We thank customers for their patience during construction while we also maintain service on two of our busiest routes."

Crews began construction work in 2017 to replace the seismically vulnerable terminal at Colman Dock. Since that time, the project has reached multiple milestones:

• Completed the southern third of the new terminal building, which opened in September 2019 for passengers traveling to and from Bremerton and Bainbridge Island;
• Launched work on the second and final phase of terminal building construction, including finishing the exterior of the building, and completing interior electrical, wiring and finish work to open the full terminal in 2022;
• Constructed a temporary pedestrian overpass at Columbia Street to the terminal, which allows people to bypass busy Alaskan Way;
• Completed the new overhead loading passenger structure for slip 3, on the north end of the terminal;
• Constructed the foundation of the new trestle for current and future vehicle holding, with a total of 500 new steel piles and concrete to meet seismic and operating requirements;
• Built the new passenger-only ferry terminal on the south side of Colman Dock for the King County Water Taxi and the Kitsap Transit Passenger Only Ferry boats.

This exit has been closed since October 2020, requiring all vehicles to use a single exit at Yesler Street. Re-opening the Marion Street exit this fall will greatly improve operations at Colman Dock, while construction continues toward project completion in 2023.

WSF, a division of the Washington State Department of Transportation, is the largest ferry system in the United States and carries approximately 24 million people a year.

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