SOUTH WHIDBEY: Port wants conduit added to ferry dock
Kira Erickson reports from the Port of South Whidbey board meeting of Wed., Nov. 12, 2025 for the South Whidbey Record. Read the whole story.
Summary by Perplexity.ai
As part of the Clinton ferry terminal electrification project, Port of South Whidbey commissioners are requesting Washington State Ferries to include an additional electrical conduit for a future electric passenger-only ferry dock. The Mukilteo-Clinton route will soon get two hybrid-electric ferries, with substantial power delivered to one slip, impacting parking at the Humphrey Road lot. Port commissioners provided feedback to ensure the extra conduit is installed during the project’s trenching phase, enabling expansion for electric passenger ferries. Details are still needed on equipment placement due to stair maintenance concerns and anticipated costs, but leaders see the request as a reasonable condition.
They Said It
At the port meeting this week, Commissioner Curt Gordon said he would like to add a request to the MOU for an additional conduit for the port to use, for the purpose of transferring power down to a passenger-only ferry dock. Part of the MOU states that State Ferries will excavate a trench and install electrical conduit from Humphrey Road to the ferry terminal.
In addition to the conduit, Gordon said he would like more details on where the electrical equipment will be installed in the parking lot, since the port has to maintain nearby stairs.
Gordon acknowledged there would be some expense, and it’s not as simple as throwing an extra pipe into an open ditch.
“Personally, I just want this to be a condition, and I think it’s a very legitimate condition,” he said.
