SF Bay Ferry Secures $3 Million in Federal Funding for Vallejo Terminal Project
SAN FRANCISCO | March 12, 2024 – San Francisco Bay Ferry today announced that it has secured $3 million in federal funding for the Vallejo Ferry Terminal Reconfiguration Project.
The funding is included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024, passed by Congress and signed by President Biden in recent days. Funding for the project was secured thanks to support from Congressman John Garamendi, who represents Vallejo, Senator Alex Padilla, and the late Senator Dianne Feinstein.
The $16 million Vallejo Ferry Terminal Reconfiguration Project will improve service reliability, operational efficiency, climate change resilience and the rider experience by redesigning and rebuilding a key terminal on SF Bay Ferry’s most popular route. The new design will reduce the need for expensive dredging in the Napa River and minimize passenger disruption during tide events.
“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,” said Pippin Dew of of SF Bay Ferry’s Board of Directors. “Thank you to Congressman Garamendi for being a champion of water transit on Capitol Hill. We also share our gratitude with Senator Padilla and the late Senator Feinstein for prioritizing this important Bay Area project. I want to thank Senator Laphonza Butler, who has carried the torch of Senator Feinstein with grace and enthusiasm. Finally, thank you to the entire Bay Area Congressional Delegation for believing in the power of transit to connect communities and prioritizing it at the federal level.”
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.
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 dramatically. 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.