Vallejo Ferry Terminal Reconfiguration Project

Project Benefits

Decreases passenger disruption caused due to temporary facility location during a dredging event
Reduces the need for dredging frequency from every 2-3 year cycle to every 20+ years saving approximately $21 million in 20 years
Provides more reliable transit times due to quicker docking/undocking procedures
Provides more passenger queuing area than the existing configuration
Reduces environmental disturbance

Project Description

The Vallejo ferry route is one of the services that has highest daily ridership in WETA’s San Francisco Bay Ferry service, carrying approximately 1 million passengers in 2019 before the pandemic and nearly 600,000 passengers in 2022. The Vallejo Ferry Terminal is located on the east shore of Mare Island Strait and is subject to ongoing siltation (or water pollution caused by silt or clay) that requires maintenance dredging to maintain adequate depths inside the basin for the ferry vessel operations.

The rate of siltation in the Napa River has drastically increased in the last decade resulting in an increased dredging frequency from once every 4 years to once every 1.5 to 2 years. Each dredging episode costs WETA nearly $2 million, an expense expected to increase over time. The Vallejo Ferry Terminal Reconfiguration Project will relocate the float away from the basin area where the heaviest accumulation of sediment occurs, thereby. reducing the need to dredge frequently and saving WETA up to approximately $21 million over the next 20 years.

Just as important as the cost savings this project would have on strained budgets, dredging and low tide episodes are also disruptive to passengers and service operations. Due to the amount of siltation filling in the ferry terminal basin leading up to scheduled dredging projects, WETA has had to cancel service during low tide events, leaving passengers with no direct transit option to San Francisco. Additionally, each dredging episode takes approximately two to four weeks to complete, during which time WETA must establish a temporary terminal using a temporary float and alternative gangway and redirect passengers.

The goal of the Vallejo Terminal Reconfiguration Project is to reduce the frequency of dredge events and provide more suitable berthing configurations for the ferry vessels that will maximize service efficiency while minimizing disruption to passengers.

Environmental Review

The draft initial study/mitigated negative declaration was published on May 23, 2024. You can download it here. Please be aware that it is a 65 MB PDF file.

Documents for July 11, 2024 Board of Directors Meeting

Project Timeline

Design work on the project began in 2022.

Environmental review and permitting is occurring through 2024.

Construction is scheduled to occur in 2025 or 2026.

Project Funding

WETA has already committed approximately $9 million in federal funds and $4 million in matching Regional Bridge Toll Funds for this $16 million project. The agency is seeking an additional $3 million funding to complete the project.

Project Supporters

Bay Planning Coalition
Bay Area Council
Inlandboatmen’s Union of the Pacific (IBU, Marine Division ILWU)
International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots (MMP)
Solano County Transportation Authority
City of Vallejo
Vallejo Chamber of Commerce
Assemblymember Lori Wilson
State Senator Bill Dodd