Washington State Ferries (WSF) is a common carrier that provides service on most routes with vessels that have an auto deck clearance of 16 feet, allowing transportation of any legal sized freight vehicle. Trucks that weigh over 80,000 pounds or are wider than 8 feet 6 inches must obtain a travel approval from WSF before crossing on any route. Major freight routes include the San Juan Islands domestic route from Anacortes and the Edmonds-Kingston and Mukilteo-Clinton routes. These routes combined account for 65% of all trucks over 50 feet in length carried by WSF.
To help freight movement on two of these routes, the following programs have been initiated: 1) on the San Juan Islands domestic route, a commercial vehicle reservation system has been in place to make it easier for shippers to plan ahead and avoid getting delayed in extended ferry lines; 2) on the Edmonds-Kingston route, the Jumbo Mark II vessel construction program in the mid 1990’s resulted in the assignment of vessels that have four wide lanes for trucks, in contrast to the three narrow lanes on previous vessels.
Some smaller vessels have clearance less than 16 feet and some terminals present loading difficulties due to geography and fluctuating tides. For these and other circumstances, the Washington State Ferries website posts alerts and scheduling information to assist commercial vehicle drivers in planning a safe and efficient trip.
The Legislative 2003 Transportation Project List includes ferry projects that will directly enhance freight movement. The first is the development of a larger multimodal ferry terminal at Mukilteo, which will allow a much larger vehicle holding area with the ability to stage tall trucks and other vehicles separately in order to allow for efficient loading.
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