Seattle’s Colman Dock about to get even busier
Aug 18, 2016, 7:12 AM | Updated: 8:39 am
If you thought it’s been a giant pain getting to Colman Dock in Seattle during the Alaskan Way Viaduct project and the seawall project just wait until next year. That’s when a massive overhaul of the dock itself will really start impacting ferry riders.
Colman Dock is by far the busiest ferry terminal in the state. There were more than 9 million ferry riders in 2015, plus an additional half-million King County Water Taxi users. It is the workhorse of the ferry system, but it is old.
The dock is falling apart in some places, and it’s not well-prepared to survive a big earthquake.
Related: Over-taxed ferry terminal has advantages, major challenges
“We have these dive inspections that come along and they find rotten piles, on a pretty regular basis, which we fix,” Washington State Ferries Structural Engineer Chris Stearns said.
Some of those old wooden pilings under the dock are more than 100 years old, he said.
Next year, work will begin on a complete remodel of Colman Dock using concrete and steel. It will take until 2023 to finish. Stearns said the soil under the waterfront isn’t the best for setting foundations. Just ask Bertha about that.
“You really have to have deep foundations to get down to the really good stuff,” he said. “That’s definitely one of the challenges.”
The dock will extend further into Puget Sound, but to make up for that, one of the other piers on the waterfront will be removed.
More than 7,400 tons of creosote-treated wood will be removed during the project.
This project is also more than just about modernizing the terminal building and adding better bike and pedestrian access. Stearns said the new dock could serve as a lifeline after a big earthquake.
“We know we can get a lot of people out (of Colman Dock),” he said. “We can stage the boats out of there and get across the water.”
But make no mistake, this is going to have a huge impact on terminal users during the six-year project. The state is going to keep Colman Dock open while remodeling. Cars and riders are going to be shifted all over the dock during construction.
“There’s going to be a lot of changes over the years while that phasing is happening,” Stearns said. “I think the goal there is to minimize the impact on operations and hopefully not have such an inconvenience to the public.”
We have about a year to get prepared. The design work is about 60 percent complete. There will be public outreach and discussions in the coming months to get you ready.
