Anderson Island ferry service resumes

Ferry service resumed this morning between Steilacoom and Anderson Island after high winds knocked out the electrical system and sunk a pontoon early Friday. A ramp between the pontoon and the ferry dock was also damaged.

For the last few days, a passenger-only ferry had been temporarily serving Anderson Island, said Toby Rickman, director for Pierce County Public Works and Utilities, the agency that owns and operates the county's ferry system. The cost for the ferry rental alone was $14,000 but the total cost of repairs hasn't been calculated yet, he said.

Rickman hopes to receive environmental permits this week that will allow contractors to start bidding on a project to replace the pontoon that sunk. Built in the 1980s, the pontoon has posed design and stability problems, even before Friday's storm, Rickman said.

"It's never sank before but we've had some difficulty with it in windy weather so we want to build something that better fits the contour of the shoreline there," he said. Replacing and enlarging the pontoon and replacing surrounding pilings will cost an estimated $1.4 million, Rickman said.