The state’s newest ferry will return to service on the South End this month.

The Tokitae, named for an orca taken from Penn Cove and partially built by Nichols Brothers Boat Builders in Freeland, is set to return to the Clinton-to-Mukilteo route March 22. The date is also the start of Washington State Department of Transportation, Ferries Division’s spring schedule, a time when traffic begins to increase.

Currently, the South Whidbey ferry service is handled by the Kittitas and Chelan, both Issaquah 130-class ferries with a maximum vehicle capacity of 124. The Tokitae’s limit was 144 cars.

“It’s the slower season of the year so we can handle the Clinton-Mukilteo traffic, no problem,” said Susan Harris, a ferries spokeswoman.

Since late January, the Tokitae has served the Edmonds-to-Kingston route. Typically that run is handled by the Tacoma, a Jumbo Mark II-class vessel that holds up to 202 vehicles. But the Tacoma was knocked out of service July 29 with 400 passengers stranded until tug boats took it to Bainbridge Island. A design flaw was later blamed by ferry officials, and the Tacoma underwent repairs at the Eagle Harbor shipyard. 

The Tokitae, which began transporting people in late June 2014, was slated to be pulled out of service after six months and taken in for work covered under warranty and ahead of its annual U.S. Coast Guard inspection, which it passed.

“It’s always been scheduled,” Harris said. “We have maintenance items we have to get done in a certain period of time.”

“It’s like a new car,” she added.

Once the work was done and the issues with the Tacoma came up, the Tokitae was rerouted to Edmonds-Kingston because of the larger volume of freight on the route.

Traffic the past few weekends has been higher than usual, according to people working in Clinton. Tanya Scriven, an employee at Southern Cross Espresso on Commercial Street and Highway 525, said she saw long ferry lines starting in mid February, with one line stretching back to Ken’s Korner during Langley Mystery Weekend Feb. 21-22.

“The lines have been crazy lately, and I’m always like ‘Why is it so busy?’ ” she said.

That didn’t translate to more business, however, as Scriven said most people that close to the ferry holding lanes and ticket booths don’t like to get out of their cars.

Across the highway at Cozy’s Roadhouse, bartender John Gerlach said he’s noticed longer lines during the late mornings on weekdays. He wasn’t willing to say it was because of the smaller ferries, but noted that it seemed odd to him to see the line stretch up the highway at those times.

“I don’t know if that’s something that usually happens, but I don’t remember a couple years back seeing lines at 10, 11 o’clock,” he said. “It’s not all the time. It’s just so unusual.”

A WSDOT chart of the traffic times for Clinton list moderate and most congestion between 4:40 a.m. and 10 a.m., Monday through Friday. Weekend traffic departing Clinton is heavy, meaning vessels fill close to sailing time or cars wait at least one sailing, between 9:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.

The Tokitae was scheduled to serve the Clinton-Mukilteo route year-round, according to the WSDOT website. One 124-car vessel and one 144-car vessel are listed as being the normal fall/winter/spring and normal summer vessel assignments.

Harris said losing the Tokitae during the winter sailing season may not be the common practice next year.