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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   Q&A with Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond Click on the audio links to listen to answers to questions from reporters at a press conference early Wednesday morning. Q: Why did it take so long to recognize that the Steel Electric ferries needed to be taken out of service? A: Listen to the answer Q: Were the problems on the Quinualt really that bad? A: Listen to the answer Q: What's the worst that could happen as a result of the hull pitting on the Quinault? A: Listen to the answer Q: What is the status of the replacement plan for the state's oldest ferries? A: Listen to the answer Q: How much will it cost to replace the four boats and where will that money come from? A: Listen to the answer Q: Who is expected to feel the biggest impact immediately from the decision to pull the Steel Electric class boats out of service? A: Listen to the answer Q: What is the plan to get the Keystone-Whidbey Island route back up and running? A: Listen to the answer Q: What should holiday travelers do to cope with the unexpected closure of the Keystone-Port Townsend run? A: Listen to the answer Report from 710 KIRO Listen to The Herald's radio partner's report on the decision to pull the Steel Electric ferries from service, including a live interview with Gov. Chris Gregoire.   Related Stories • Four old ferries sold for scrap 6/23/09 • For scrap or not, old ferries must go 4/2/09   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Wednesday, November 21, 2007 Travelers vent frustrations about ferry detours By Yoshiaki Nohara and David Chircop Herald writer SEATTLE - Ferry riders on an early-morning run from Kingston to Edmonds Wednesday voiced frustration with long detours caused by the state ferry system’s decision to pull from service four of its oldest ferries. Ken and Mary Stanfill who live near Sequim said their trip to visit their daughter in Sedro-Woolley will now take hours longer and mean more driving on congested stretches of I-5. “Why did they wait so long to do something about it? They’ve been having problems for so long,” Ken Stanfill said. Until Wednesday, they used to be able to take a ferry from the Olympic Peninsula to Whidbey Island and drive north to Skagit County. Some weren’t convinced the closure was as urgent as state transportation officials said. Brian Pouillon, who faced long delays while traveling from Friday Harbor to Port Townsend, said he believes safety wasn’t the first concern. Instead, he said he believes the ferry system shut down the ferries on Thanksgiving week to gain support for fixing the ferries. “I think the timing is political,” Pouillon said. “They need new ferries, but this is a poor way to do it.” A passenger-only ferry won't start running until Friday morning between Keystone and Port Townsend, a route that state officials shut down on Tuesday night to inspect problems of the state's oldest ferries. That means hundreds of travelers will have to drive around or take an hours-long detour on the Edmonds-Kingston and Mukilteo-Clinton routes through Thanksgiving Day. "This is very unfortunate," State Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond said at an early Wednesday morning press conference in Seattle, which was set for 5 a.m. "I want to apologize to all the people who want to use that route." The walk-on only ferry, the Snohomish, is expected to begin running the route at 6:30 a.m. on Friday. The Snohomish will then provide service every 90 minutes until 9:15 p.m. daily. There will be no car ferry service for the foreseeable future. Hammond on Tuesday ordered all four Steel Electric-class ferries - the Klickitat, Quinault, Illahee and Nisqually - out of the water indefinitely. State officials need to identify - and if needed, repair - problems within the hulls of the four ferries. "These 80-year-old boats are 80 years old. They are old," Hammond said. About 1,000 cars and 350 walk-ons used the four ferries each day between Keystone on Whidbey Island and Port Townsend on the Olympic Peninsula until service was halted on the run. The state ferry system had been planning to sell the newer Snohomish on eBay, but crews are working to put the boat back to the water, state officials said on Wednesday morning. "This is an emergency from a standpoint of the Keystone-Porttownsend route has no boat right now," Hammond said. The ferry system is also set to operate three vessels on the Edmonds-Kingston route from Wednesday through Sunday in hopes to alleviate traffic woes during the holiday weekend rush. Hammond said she made the decision to shut down the Keystone-Port Townsend route after discussing with ferry officials problems with 1927-vintage steel plates along the Quinault's keel. Inspections found extensive corrosion pitting the Quinault's hull plates. That made Hammond question whether the other three ferries have similar serious problems. Completing all the inspections could take a few years, she said. The Quinault will likely be repaired and brought back to service in early February to restore the route until inspections get completed, Hammond said. After finishing all the inspections, the state ferry system will decide whether to keep using the four ferries or replace them with new boats. A new ferry would cost up to $50 million, Hammond said. At the press conference Hammond said she will work with lawmakers and Gov. Chris Gregoire to find money to solve the situation. "We don't have money for this," she said.

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