MUKILTEO – Longer lines are expected tonight and through the weekend at the ferry docks in Mukilteo and Keystone because of the Hood Canal Bridge closure.
The bridge, the primary route to the Olympic Peninsula from the north Puget Sound area, closed for repairs beginning today. The work is expected to take until mid-June.
The main ferry detour route involves taking the ferry from Mukilteo to Clinton on Whidbey Island, driving to Keystone and taking the ferry from there to Port Townsend.
Reservations on the Keystone-Port Townsend route are booked for today, said Susan Harris-Huether, a spokeswoman for the state ferry system.
The small ferry on the route holds only 50 vehicles, she said, with 40 set aside for reservations and 10 left for first-come, first-serve travelers.
Several other options exist for drivers who want to reach the peninsula, including driving all the way around the south end of the Hood Canal, a drive of at least three hours from Everett, depending on the destination.
Another option is a ferry run added for the closure, between Edmonds and Port Townsend evenings Sunday through Thursday. The boat leaves Edmonds at 8:40 p.m. and Port Townsend at 11 p.m. Reservations on the route may be made up to a week in advance.
To make the run, a ferry will be pulled from service on the Edmonds-Kingston run during those times. As a result, the usual 8:40 p.m. sailing from Edmonds to Kingston Sunday through Thursday will be cancelled.
Also, because of expected reduced traffic on the Edmonds-Kingston run resulting from the bridge closure, the regularly scheduled sailings from Edmonds to Kingston at 10 p.m. and 11:20 p.m. Sundays and at 9:20 and 10:40 from Kingston on Sundays will be cancelled during the closure, Harris-Huether said.
The effect of these cancellations on wait times at Edmonds and Kingston on Sundays is uncertain, she said.
“It’s a wait and see thing on Sunday night,” Harris-Huether said.
Customers may make reservations on the state ferries Web site at www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries, by calling 511 between 7 a.m. and 5:45 p.m., or by visiting participating businesses or visitor centers in Port Townsend and on Whidbey Island.
Details on this and other options are available on the state Department of Transportation’s Web site on the closure, http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR104HoodCanalBridgeEast/2009closure.htm.
Trip planning help is available at 1-877-595-4222.
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