If we had a failure of a primary component, it would have put the public at substantial risk of injury or death. East said the new glitch is perplexing, but he's confident Hamilton Engineering, which he calls the top mechanical engineers in Seattle, will sniff it out. I won't hedge. But we want to make sure when it's up and running that it's going to run properly, and we're not going to have to shut the thing down within a month for ongoing problems. Overhead loading reduces dock time because passengers and vehicles can load and unload simultaneously.
Safety also is improved because pedestrians are separated from cars.
Fortunately, Colman Dock only uses two of its three slips at a time. Bainbridge Island boats dock at Slip 3 and Bremerton ferries at Slip 2. Slip 1, which is getting the new walkway, will be used if one of the other two is being worked on and during emergencies. Someday, Southworth boats could dock there instead of West Seattle. Ferries officials have said that's the route's future.