Mukilteo dock closure begins next Monday

The Mukilteo ferry terminal will close briefly next week and during the first two weekends in March, meaning all ferry traffic leaving and heading for Clinton must go through the Edmonds ferry dock.

Miss the sights and sounds of the Edmonds waterfront?

If so, Washington State Ferries will get you caught up next week.

The Mukilteo ferry terminal will close briefly next week and during the first two weekends in March, meaning all ferry traffic leaving and heading for Clinton must go through the Edmonds ferry dock.

For the second time in two years, WSF is closing the Mukilteo dock for repair work, which means commuters and other ferry riders will have to take the long way across the water. WSF will be replacing the tower piles at the dock, which will shut down the terminal for a one-week partial closure and two full weekend closures.

The partial closure will take place Feb. 3-7 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Ferry traffic will be rerouted to Edmonds and crossing time will be approximately 50 minutes.

The weekend closures are scheduled for March 1-2 and 8-9. The closure will begin after the 1:05 a.m. early Saturday morning sailing from Mukilteo and service will resume with the 4:40 a.m. Clinton to Mukilteo sailing early Monday morning.

Schedules for the partial closure and two weekend closures are available on the ferries, at the terminals and on the Washington State Ferries Web site, www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries.

According to a Washington State Department of Transportation press release, the project will replace the existing towers with a new structure built around the old one. The old towers will be left in place to guide the counterweights. The project will minimize costs and the terminal closure time needed.

The schedule was written so that impacts to Kingston-bound traffic will be minimal, according to a Washington State Ferries press release.