Diane Rhodes, communications, 206-462-8866 WSF media hotline, 206-402-8070

18-hour route suspension to end with opening of new Mukilteo terminal

MUKILTEO – People who use the Mukilteo/Clinton state ferry route will need to make alternate plans for much of the day Tuesday, Dec. 29. Washington State Ferries will suspend service on the run for 18 hours total, including the first 13 hours of the day's sailing schedule, in preparation for the opening of the new Mukilteo multimodal terminal that evening.

After the final Monday, Dec. 28, evening sailings (the 11:45 p.m. from Clinton and the 12:15 a.m. from Mukilteo), crews will start the hours-long process of moving key marine structures from the old terminal one-third of a mile away to the new one. During the 18 hours of closure, even emergency, non-scheduled sailings will not be possible.

Service on the route will resume starting with the Tuesday, Dec. 29, 5:35 p.m. departure out of Clinton. The new Mukilteo facility officially opens upon arrival of that first sailing around 5:50 p.m.

Ahead of the resumption of normal service on the route, tollbooths in Clinton will reopen at 4:30 p.m. Tollbooths in Mukilteo will open at 5 p.m. so riders can line up for the 6:10 p.m. first sailing out of the new terminal.

Alternate routes People who need to travel to or from Whidbey Island before ferry service resumes on Dec. 29 can drive north over Deception Pass on State Route 20. Another option is to use WSF's Edmonds/Kingston and Port Townsend/Coupeville routes.

"We recognize this is a major disruption for some of our customers," said Amy Scarton, head of WSF. "We worked to balance the need of those who rely on this route to get to work with the need to open the new terminal by scheduling this move over a holiday break, when there are usually fewer commuters."

The new terminal, replacing the cramped 63-year-old one, boosts transportation safety and reliability for a growing Seattle metropolitan region.

WSF, a division of the Washington State Department of Transportation, is the largest ferry system in the U.S. and safely and efficiently carries nearly 24 million people a year through some of the most majestic scenery in the world. For breaking news and the latest information, follow WSF on Twitter and Facebook.