Photo courtesy of Golder Associates Wake-induced erosion along the Rich Passage shoreline has limited fast ferry service between Seattle and Bremerton.

For more than 20 years, the city of Bremerton, Kitsap Transit, and the state of Washington have worked on initiatives to provide passenger-only fast ferry service between Seattle and Bremerton.

However, development of this service has been limited by the potential of wake-induced erosion on the shoreline in environmentally sensitive Rich Passage, just east of Bremerton. Also, local waterfront property owners were some of the most vocal opponents of new ferry service. They took the state to court and reached a settlement over damages to their property caused by previous ferry operations.

Pacific International Engineering retained Golder Associates as the lead technical consultant in developing a study for Kitsap Transit to identify and minimize potential impacts of candidate vessels on the shorelines along the ferry route.

The study has resulted in the compilation of a detailed, long-term data set, encompassing approximately 12 miles of Puget Sound shoreline, including winds, waves, wakes, currents, sediment characterizations, seasonal patterns of beach response and long-term historical changes. The data systems will not only provide important baseline data for future site-specific work, but will also provide a valuable reference for other work in Puget Sound.

The efforts were also able to tap into the concerns of the waterfront property owners, who now feel like they are an integral part of the process.