Changes imminent at Seattle ferry dock for seawall construction

There’s another change coming Monday for ferry users who’ve already put up with a lot during Seattle’s seawall replacement project.

The project is moving and the ferry holding lanes in front of Colman Dock between Madison Street and Yesler Way will be closed.

Access will be opened directly from Alaskan Way, which should actually make it easier for people to get in and out of the ferry dock.

Drivers have had to drive up a few blocks, pull a U-turn and come back to the dock.

Now drivers will be able to turn left and right from Alaskan Way onto Yesler and head right into the terminal, says project deputy administrator Dave Sowers.

“It’s actually an improvement for bicyclists and pedestrians that use the water taxi as well, and it just removes a lot of the congestion that we had in that Yesler vicinity because of where the contractor’s work operations were,” says Sowers.

Travelers will see a significant amount of new work going on in front of the ferry terminal, according to Sowers.

“There will be a lot of construction equipment and activity going on in front of that terminal in those lanes now that they are used for ferry queuing,” he says.

The passenger pick-up and drop-off locations will also be moving, along with the taxi zones, to the west side of Alaskan Way between Columbia and Marion streets. Sowers says the new configuration will run through the spring.

“This current configuration is planned until about May,” he says. “Then, as volumes pick up and activity increases this summer and we get into that tourist season, there will be more changes down here. But this is our current configuration for about the next five months.”

Sowers says signs will be changed and there will be plenty of help for drivers on Monday.

“We will have some uniformed police officers to help us get this switch in place. We will continually monitor it over the next few weeks and make sure that it’s functioning and flowing properly and helping people out.”

WSDOT warns there may be additional congestion in the area until travelers adjust to the new changes.