(The Center Square) – The Washington State Department of Transportation on Monday afternoon hosted a dedication ceremony for the new $489 million Seattle Multimodal Terminal at Colman Dock on the city’s waterfront.
“Isn’t it great to be here today with the largest and safest ferry fleet in the United States, with the best terminal in the world right here at Colman Dock?” Gov. Jay Inslee asked rhetorically. “And that’s where we are.”
Paid for with a combination of state and federal funds, the massive rebuild of the state’s flagship ferry terminal – approximately 10 million people pass through Colman Dock every year – has been underway for more than six years and added about 50,000 square feet of new space in the form of a concourse and other features.
Construction on the Colman Dock project also added an elevated walkway between the passenger-only facility and a new terminal building along Alaskan Way with large windows that offer sweeping views of Puget Sound.
Inslee touted the new terminal at Colman Dock as part of the state’s ongoing effort to tackle climate change.
“This is kind of a beautiful architectural testament to forward-looking designers,” the governor noted. “But it’s part of an installation that I think is an icon of what we’re doing with our ferries, which is to build a transportation system that does not pollute the waters.”
Washington State Ferries is in the process of converting its largest ships to hybrid-electric power in a bid to significantly reduce emissions.
King County Executive Dow Constantine focused on the connectivity provided by the new and improved terminal.
“And from here, you can, in fact, get anywhere you need to go all around the region,” he said.
He continued, “This might be the Seattle ferry terminal, but it is a gateway for the entire region, and we’re excited to have this shining new jewel on Seattle’s shining, beautifully restored and reimagined waterfront.”
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell lauded the new terminal as a way to boost the Emerald City’s downtown core.
“It offers a new landing place for visitors coming downtown, and we want to encourage you, by the way, to go to downtown and visit downtown and see the transformative progress we’ve been making on the waterfront and across our city center,” Harrell said.
WSDOT Secretary Roger Millar credited the team that upgraded the terminal with coming through during challenging circumstances.
“And let’s remember that this team did this navigating a pandemic, worker shortages, a concrete strike, permitting windows and environmental clean-up on-site, having to open one-third of the building and operate in that building before we could remove the old building and coordinating our work with all of the other work along Alaska Way,” he pointed out.
Work on the terminal continues, with the following amenities to come in 2024, according to WSDOT: two new tribal-named plazas along Alaskan Way, a bike corral, a maximum of 10 food-retail establishments, a new passenger pick-up/drop-off area, art installations and a refurbished Colman Clock.
