San Francisco Bay Ferry has secured $3 million in federal funding for its Vallejo Ferry Terminal Reconfiguration Project, which aims to improve service, efficiency, climate change resilience and the rider experience by redesigning and rebuilding the key terminal on the ferry’s most popular route.
The funding, which was announced in mid-March is included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024, recently passed by Congress and signed by President Biden. Funding for the project was secured via support from Congressman John Garamendi (D), who represents Vallejo, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA), and the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
The Vallejo Ferry Terminal Reconfiguration Project, which has a full estimated price tag of $16 million, would reduce the need for expensive dredging in the Napa River and minimize passenger disruption during tide events, according to SF Bay Ferry.
Due to accelerating silt build-up in the Napa River since the closure of the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in the 1990s, the required dredging frequency of the ferry basin at the Vallejo terminal has increased considerably.
SF Bay Ferry is now required to dredge in Vallejo every 18-24 months. Each dredging episode costs the agency approximately $2 million. As such, the reconfiguration project would save an estimated $21 million over the next 20 years.
“This federal investment will save the public money over the long term and enhance a critical transit option for the people of Vallejo and surrounding communities,” Pippin Dew of SF Bay Ferry’s Board of Directors said.
SF Bay Ferry is currently working with the City of Vallejo and partners on design and permitting for the project, which would relocate the ferry dock further into the Napa River at the same location in the heart of downtown.
Construction could begin as early as 2025, ferry officials say.