Date:  Monday, October 06, 2008

Contact: Marta Coursey, Director of Communications, 206-515-3918

EDMONDS – The Edmonds/Kingston ferry route is reduced to one-boat service today with the 188-car Spokane because the second vessel on the route, the 188-car Walla Walla, had to be removed from service for necessary repairs. Engineers discovered damage to a major piece of equipment on the vessel during a planned inspection Sunday night, Oct. 5. Repairs to the Walla Walla are expected to take a minimum of two weeks.

Engineers have not yet determined the cause or extent of the damage to a thrust bearing on the Walla Walla. The thrust bearing is a critical component on all vessels; it transfers the force developed by the vessel’s propeller to the structure of the vessel, thereby pushing the vessel forward.

Customers that normally use the Edmonds/Kingston route should be prepared for long waits while only one vessel is operating on the route. Wait times were over two hours during Monday morning’s commute. Customers should consider alternate routes such as the Seattle/Bainbridge Island and Seattle/Bremerton routes.

WSDOT apologizes to customers for the inconvenience of this service disruption. The ferry system is working hard to complete required maintenance on its vessels while minimizing impacts to customers. However, with no back-up vessels in the system, WSDOT is unable to avoid reducing service when unscheduled repairs are required.

For Monday, one-boat service will continue at Edmonds/Kingston. More information will be provided when available.

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