Originally scheduled to start last June, work has begun on converting Terminal 91 to a cruise-ship terminal, according to the Port of Seattle. T-91 has been used for years as moorage for fishing boats and barges, which normally operate at different times of the year than the cruise ships, according to the Port.
The conversion project at the pier between Queen Anne and Magnolia was delayed when an appeal was lodged about the adequacy of the project's Final Environmental Impact Study (FEIS), according to former Port spokesman Mick Shultz.
The FEIS was completed last February, and work began on Monday this week to install concrete pilings at the pier, according to a Port press release. The piling work is expected to continue approximately four weeks, Monday-Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., but there will no work done on Thanksgiving Day or the day after, according to the press release.
Noise at the job site will be monitored and tested on a regular basis, and steps will be taken to minimize the noise from the pile driving to adhere to the city's noise ordinance. The Port also maintains a noise hotline 24/7 at 206-728-3706 if anyone has a complaint.
Cruise ships have been mooring at Terminal 30, and the numbers of those ships berthing in Seattle has skyrocketed from six in 1999 to 200 this year, according to the FEIS. That doesn't mean cruise ships will be mooring at both terminals, though. Container traffic also has risen dramatically, and the Port needs T-30 to handle the extra volume, officials said last February.
The number of cruise ships stopping in Seattle is actually expected to decline, but the numbers of passengers are expected to grow because the new generation of cruise ships are larger, Port officials have said.
The work beginning this week will include replacing around 220 linear feet of the remaining creosote-timber apron with a new concrete apron sup- ported by steel pilings. The work also includes replacing around 36 linear feet of the apron under the Magnolia Bridge, and a "micro-piling-supporting apron" will be built under the bridge to avoid impacts to its foundation, according to the press release.
The project includes building a two-story cruise-ship terminal on the pier. The FEIS indicated it would take up 162,000 square feet of space, but the recent press release indicates the size has been scaled back to 144,000 square feet.
Some dredging also will be necessary at T-91, and two new substations will be added so that ships can hook up to shore power rather than using the ships' engines to maintain onboard power, according to the press release. Ships that don't have the capability of using shore power will have to burn low-sulfur diesel fuel, project manager Catherine Chu said in February.
Long-term passenger parking will located north of the Magnolia Bridge, according to the FEIS, and passenger vehicles and buses will reach the terminal via the Galer Street Flyover, according to the FEIS. A study in the FEIS also indicates that cruise-related traffic on 15th and Elliott avenues west will be limited to non-peak traffic hours.
The project should be completed by the start of the 2009 cruise season, the press release adds.[[In-content Ad]]
