Vallejo Ferry Terminal Reconfiguration Project

Low tide at the Vallejo Ferry TerminalProject Benefits

  • Decrease passenger disruption and enhance operational efficiency
  • Eliminate the need for costly dredging with $21 million saved in 20 years
  • Reduces environmental disturbance

Project Description

The Vallejo ferry route has the highest daily ridership in WETA’s San Francisco Bay Ferry service, carrying approximately 1.2 million passengers annually 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 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 10 years 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 gangway and float further out into the Mare Island Strait which will eliminate the need to dredge and save WETA up to $21 million over the next 20 years.

Dredging episodes are disruptive to passengers and the provision of service.  Due to the amount of siltation filling in the ferry terminal basin leading up to scheduled dredging projects, WETA has had to cancel service for days at a time during low tide events, leaving passengers with no direct transit option to San Francisco. Additionally, each dredging episode takes approximately two 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.

A rendering of the preferred design of a reconfigured Vallejo Ferry Terminal.Project Timeline

Design work on the project began in 2022. Environmental review and permitting is scheduled for 2023 and 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