SEATTLE — Two major public transportation providers in Washington state are asking you to "mind their mess" in the new year.
Both Sound Transit and Washington State Ferries are undergoing major construction and asking passengers to pack their patience in the meantime.
Ferries operating on the Bainbridge Island and Bremerton routes are sharing one slip at Colman Dock until Jan. 20, which means delays for up to an hour in the evening.
“I’m going to be late for work for about two weeks and then I’m going to find a way to get there,” said Ginger Bell, a commuter from Bainbridge Island.
The temporary ferry schedule change is so construction crews can make seismic upgrades to Colman Dock, as well as improvements to the main terminal building. When it's finished, the building will include retail space and the existing timber supports will be replaced with new, concrete and steel framing.
“I don’t know how many hundreds of millions of dollars this was, but I like it better the old way,” said George Hovany, of Vaughn.
The Link light rail has also slowed down as Sound Transit works to expand the light rail as part of its Connect 2020 project. Now through March 15, construction crews will close one Link track at a time in downtown Seattle to connect existing service with 14 miles of new service to East King County.
“With single track operations comes trains running every 12 minutes instead of every six minutes as they do today,” said Ron Lewis of Sound Transit.
Sound Transit described this as "the most complex and extensive service disruption" in its history.
Riders continuing through downtown Seattle will now need to switch trains at Pioneer Square Station to change tracks.
Riders with bicycles will also not be allowed at the Pioneer Square Station. Southbound riders with bikes will be forced to exit the train at the University Street Station, and northbound riders will exit at the International District/Chinatown Station.
Sound Transit officials said with up to 1,600 riders needing to transfer across the same center platform at Pioneer Square, bikes will be prohibited for safety.
Officials opted for extended disruptions, rather than shutting down service completely.
But no matter how you travel, both Sound Transit and Washington State Ferries promised a better ride on the other side of this construction.