Foss Maritime Co. of Seattle will build a replacement 20-car state ferry to operate on Lake Roosevelt, a remote location requiring the ferry be built in sections and transported across the state.
The Washington State Department of Transportation opened three bids for the project last week and awarded the contract to Foss, whose $9,557,178 bid was nearly $250,000 less than the state’s estimate. The new, all-aluminum ferry will be built in pieces at Foss’s Rainier, Ore., location (near Longview, Wash.), transported to Eastern Washington and assembled near the ferry landing.
The contract award is a major milestone in WSDOT’s progress toward replacing the aging Keller Ferry vessel, the 63-year-old Martha S. That ferry crosses the Columbia River connecting Lincoln and Ferry counties. The 1.25-mile crossing is a critical transportation link for nearby residents, school children, freight haulers and emergency services. The Martha S., which makes 30-35 daily trips, needs to be replaced with a larger, modern vessel that will meet current standards for vessel construction and current transportation needs at this site.
The construction contract calls for Foss to deliver the new ferry in May 2013.
[mappress] World Maritime News Staff, November 18, 2011; Image: wsdot