For 63 years, the Mukilteo Terminal (Mukilteo WA USA) has served passengers traveling back and forth to Whidbey Island (Puget Sound WA). The old ferry terminal closed Tuesday morning (December 29) and the new facility opened just hours later. Mukilteo is located approx 26 mi (42 km) north of Seattle.
The old ferry terminal in Mukilteo couldn't properly handle the Washington State's second-busiest ferry route anymore. In 2020, 4+ million people went through the terminal (operated by WSF-Washington State Ferries) and there were just tiny bathrooms that most passengers didn't even realize were there. Walk-on travellers had to board ferries on the same ramp as cars.
The new WSDOT ferry terminal opened a 3rd of a mile to the east, to the old Air Force tank farm. It has real bathrooms and an overhead walk-on passenger ramp. According to Diane Rhodes (WSDOT-Washington State Department of Transportation's spokesperson), the new facility gave a nod to the local tribes that called the place home. The passenger building itself was built in the form of a Coast Salish longhouse and is filled with Coast Salish cultural motifs.
The new facility features 700-ft holding lanes accommodating about 250 vehicles, or about one and a half ferries. Space is larger than the previous lot, which is expected to relieve Mukilteo Speedway of congestion.