Welcome to Skagit County
February 25, 2025 Update on Guemes Island Ferry Replacement ProjectThe Skagit County Commissioners remain committed to building an all-electric ferry for Guemes Island. The County went out to bid for vessel construction in December 2023. As we have previously shared, vessel bids exceeded the engineer’s estimate and were therefore rejected. Total project costs, including shoreside electrical and terminal improvements, are estimated at $45M. With our current funding package, we are approximately $11M short. After the bids were rejected, we were notified that $24M of our project funds could be at risk if Initiative 2117 was passed by the voters in November 2024. As Initiative 2117 was unsuccessful, we now have a clearer understanding of our budget constraints. The Skagit County Commissioners have directed staff to re-evaluate the design of the electric ferry to find areas where costs could be reduced to meet our available funding. The cost estimates for the electric ferry, including shoreside electrical and terminal improvements, along with details of our funding package have been posted on the ferry replacement project website. We will continue to update the public with more information on the project as it becomes available. For questions about the Guemes Island ferry, please email ferrycomments@co.skagit.wa.us or call Skagit County Public Works at 360-416-1400. ### |
