SEATTLE — There’s nothing quite like seeing Seattle’s skyline from the water. It’s a perk of riding the ferry to Bremerton.
“I think people are jealous of us when we say we’re commuting by boat when they’re in cars,” said Kelly Chrey. She and her husband, Bryan, ride the ferry often.
“Most of the time it’s pretty good, our frustration comes when they trade boats out and when boats are late,” said Kelly Chrey.
Bryan Chrey has commuted by ferry to work every day for the last 35 years.
“You get to know everybody and the boats for the most part have been effective except for the one that beached.”
He was on the Walla Walla when it beached on Bainbridge Island in April.
“It was about as good as a beaching can go. I mean if you’re going to be beached, it’s pretty simple,” said Bryan Chrey.
“Having the largest ferry fleet in the country also means having the largest challenges of any ferry fleet in the country and we want to make sure we are a good federal partner to the work that’s being done here,” said US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg Thursday.
Buttigieg, Governor Jay Inslee, Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell and Congressman Derek Kilmer addressed the people of Port Orchard Thursday about $9.4 million dollars in grant funding to replace Port Orchard’s Breakwater. They also addressed the stalled attempts of electrifying Washington’s ferry fleet by 2035.
“The boats are on their way. We have contracts outstanding and in the next few weeks, we will have proposals we hope will actually build these boats and hope to soon be laying these keels,” said Washington Governor, Jay Inslee.
Electrifying the fleet will cost $3.98 billion according to WSDOT. There is $1.33 billion in secured funding.
“We believe we’ll get good interest and build these boats on time under budget and (they) will be beautiful vessels,” said Inslee.