(WSDOT photo from March 29th keel-laying event for 1st 144-car-ferry project at Vigor)
Less than four weeks after that ceremony at Vigor Shipyards marking the start of work on a new 144-car state ferry, WSDOT and Vigor just formalized paperwork for the next one, with construction set to start in December. Total costs for the two ferries are expected to total $277 million, according to WSDOT’s announcement today. The first one is due to start service in early 2014, the second one, a year after that. Up to two more may follow. They’ll be replacing Evergreen State-class ferries (two of which are often on the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth run – Klahowya and Tillikum).