NESPELEM – Ferry service at Keller was suspended Oct. 8 until further notice after a leak was discovered in the hull of the Martha S.
     The suspension of service on state Highway 21 across the Columbia River “is ample evidence that our communities need a new ferry,” Colville Business Council Chairman Michael Finley said.
     The Martha S has been placed in drydock.
     Tribal officials said the closure impacts seventh to 12th grade students who use the ferry twice a day to attend school in Wilbur.
     “Their only alternative to the 10-minute ferry crossing is a bus ride of more than 50 miles, over two steep grades,” a tribal announcement said.
     Finley said tribal officials have been working with legislators, school officials and Ferry County commissioners to get a new Ferry at Keller.
     “It’s an old and potentially dangerous vessel,” he said. “This latest suspension just proves the point. Our community members, particularly our school children and those who depend on the ferry for health care emergencies, deserve much better from the State of Washington.”
     Finley said that the business council was disappointed and dismayed that funding was not made available for a new ferry in the last legislative session.
     Although $10 million had been earmarked for the project for several years, legislative concerns about the state Department of Transportation design of the boat delayed its construction.
     The $10 million was removed from the DOT budget in 2009 and replaced with $1 million for repairs and maintenance.
     “We know that state lawmakers are concerned about providing safe and dependable transportation for our children, and we intend to press our case for full funding for a new ferry until we’re successful,” Finley said. “This would benefit all users — for education, health care, commercial and tourism purposes.”
     The Martha S. was built at Coulee Dam and launched on Lake Roosevelt, bound for the Keller Ferry crossing, on Sept. 9, 1948.
     The vessel, which operates 18 hours a day, seven days a week, carries at least 190 vehicles every day, and more than double that in the summer. Approximately 70,000 vehicles travel on the Keller Ferry each year, tribal officials said.
     “The Martha S. has made more than four million crossings since it was commissioned as our ferry,” Finley said. “Our community members should not be forced to rely on an aged and dangerous vessel for this crossing, which can be very rough in bad weather. We hope state lawmakers will recognize that the need for a new Keller Ferry is now.”