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February 10, 2025

Best in State - Gold Award: Original or Innovative Application of New and Existing Techniques

Photo from ACEC Washington [enlarge]
Colman Dock’s 23,000-square-foot terminal building received LEED Silver certification.

WSP

Multimodal Terminal at Colman Dock

Washington State Ferries

Colman Dock, the busiest ferry terminal in Washington and one of the busiest in the world, serves over 10 million passengers annually, connecting Seattle, Kitsap County and the Olympic Peninsula. To maintain the terminal’s role as a vital transportation hub, Washington State Ferries (WSF) selected WSP as Design Engineering Lead for the replacement of structurally deficient components, ensuring continued safe and reliable ferry service. WSP employed innovative techniques to enhance the dock’s safety, accessibility, operational efficiency and user experience.

The project included the addition of an Overhead Loading and Walkway, a new 8,500-square-foot King County Passenger-Only Ferry Building, and a 23,000-square-foot Terminal Building, which received LEED Silver certification. Construction began in 2017 and the terminal became fully operational in 2023, with some work continuing into 2024. The project involved coordination with key partners, including the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, King County, the city of Seattle and several community groups.

The redesigned terminal offers a better passenger experience with a brighter, environmentally friendly interior featuring natural ventilation. It provides triple the seating capacity, more accessible entry points, and improved wayfinding compared to the previous terminal. The aging trestle was restored to enhance safety, replacing 7,500 tons of creosote-treated wood with 500 steel support piles, improving both safety and the aquatic ecosystem. The new trestle also includes 772 precast concrete panels and 12,000 cubic yards of concrete, increasing vehicle capacity by 185 to a total of 611 vehicles.

The upgraded Colman Dock was engineered to perform well during major earthquakes, ensuring public safety in emergencies. As part of the broader waterfront redevelopment, this project supports Seattle’s vital tourist industry and local economy. With WSP’s help, the dock now provides a safer, more accessible and sustainable facility for the millions of riders who rely on it each year.


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