New Ferries To Float On In

July 30, 7:59 AMSeattle Traffic ExaminerKiera Giordan

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Break out the champagne and the party balloons!  Two new ferries could be in our waters by 2010.  Ok, that may be a little much, but it is a much needed break from the archaic ferries that are floating around our Puget Sound waterways.

State Ferry officials will make a bid in September for two new 64 car ferries for the Port Townsend-Keystone route.  The new ferries will be capable of carrying 600 passengers which are similar to the 1929 models that were removed from service last year. 

In other exciting ferry news, a group of shipyards will also soon propose a design for a new 144 car ferry model that will hopefully replace aging vessels on the Tacoma-to-Vashon and San Juan Islands routes.  Those new ferries will have a capacity of 1,500 passengers.  If all goes as planned a lot more of us could be headed off to Orcas Island by 2011.