Ferry dock gets touchup

The Southworth Ferry Dock is getting a new coat of pavement this spring, and riders can expect to find crews working — and skinnier lanes — at the terminal for at least two months.

Mel Phelps, an operations supervisor with Washington State Ferries, said he expects the work to continue through Memorial Day.

“Our contract goes to June 6,” Phelps said, explaining the project’s scope is to re-pave the dock from the shoreline to the “bridge,” or the loading arm that connects to a ferry vessel.

He said the work is a necessary part of maintaining the dock and that it will take some time because crews first have to remove all the old asphalt.

“They’ll first tear up all the asphalt on one side, then inspect the structure underneath, before they can put down new asphalt,” he said.

Once the first side is complete, he said, crews will start on the other side. Working on one side at a time will keep the dock open to normal operations, Phelps said, explaining that although the loading lanes are now narrower, they can still fit two cars side-by-side.

Wider vehicles, and even semi-trailers, can still be accommodated. They will just have to drive on single-file.

“We can still handle pretty much anything,” he said, adding that perhaps only mobile homes being towed will have problems fitting into the 18-foot wide loading lane.

Phelps said that he doesn’t expect the project to have too much of an impact on normal ferry service at the dock, but said there could be “periodic delays, depending on the volume of traffic.”

As always, he said weather could affect the project, as rain could cause work stoppages.

“Weather is a big factor,” he said.

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