WSF Weekly Report | Lawmakers tour Chimacum; New overhead walkway at Bainbridge

||| FROM PATTY RUBSTELLO for WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES |||

State lawmakers in Maritime Caucus tour Chimacum

We hosted the state Legislature’s Maritime Caucus and a couple of their staff members aboard Chimacum on Friday. While sailing from Seattle to Bainbridge Island, they toured the engine room and Vessels Electrification Program Manager Chad Rous provided an overview of our system electrification efforts. On the ride back, the group visited the wheelhouse and talked to Director of Operations Steve Nevey about addressing our crew shortages by focusing on workforce development. We appreciate the hard work they’re doing to understand how we operate.

State Reps. Julia Reed (left), Bill Ramos (center) and Liz Berry (right-center), along with two legislative aides (left-center) in the Chimacum wheelhouse with Director of Operations Steve Nevey (right).

New overhead walkway installed at Bainbridge terminal

Our Seattle/Bainbridge route reopened to vehicles earlier than planned Tuesday evening and resumed its normal two-boat schedule yesterday following six days of service adjustments. From Sept. 7-12, construction crews installed large bridge spans onto concrete pillars for a new overhead walkway at our Bainbridge terminal. I want to thank everyone who worked collaboratively on this project, including our customers, the City of Bainbridge Island, Kitsap Transit, Bainbridge Island Chamber of Commerce, Squeaky Wheels and our colleagues at WSDOT. These groups showed a tremendous amount of coordination, engagement with the public and sharing of information. You’ll see more work coming. We must rebuild the mechanical and electrical systems for the new walkway and install windows, roofing, seating and infrared heaters before it opens, which is scheduled for late fall. Once it opens, crews will remove the old structure.

Over the six-day vehicle closure, the green bridge spans arrived by barge, moved one by one onto the vehicle lanes for staging then were lifted by crane into place.

We have more photos of the project on Flickr and a time-lapse video of work done during the six-day vehicle on YouTube.

“My 93-year-old husband and I had a wonderful weekend thanks in part to your wonderful staff […]. Our shuttle driver […] drove us to the Kingston Ferry Terminal, he stopped and talked to the man at the terminal window, he told him that he [had] a nice elderly couple, one on a walker – a decorated Marine, who could use some help getting from the ferry to the Amtrak station.

“To my amazement, I heard the gentleman call the Edmonds ferry. They said they would have a wheelchair & be on the lookout for a man with a walker. As the Kingston ferry came close to the shore of Edmonds, […] David was quickly met with a wheelchair and whisked down the plank by [terminal employee] Bo Delegard.

“I followed as quickly as I could but I’m afraid the weekend had caught up with me. […] I was breathing heavily, but I was ok. Suddenly a second wheelchair appeared, and [terminal employee] Casey Wentz helped me in said ‘We’re off to Amtrak. Let’s beat your husband.’ Bo and Casey delivered us to the Amtrak station in such a short time and with so much laughter, warmth, and dignity.”

-Edmonds/Kingston customer