The cost of replacing the Lummi Island ferry just spiked. Here’s the new price tag

Replacing the Lummi Island ferry will cost almost twice as much as previously thought, Whatcom County Council members learned in a committee session Tuesday.

Cost estimates for each phase of the replacement ferry , including upgrades to the ferry terminal, have seen a 90% increase beyond the estimated price tag in 2021, Public Works Director Elizabeth Kosa told the council.

In a presentation to the County Council’s Committee of the Whole, Kosa laid out several options to replace the aging Whatcom Chief — including a smaller diesel ferry instead of an electric boat, a bond issue, a countywide tax or a bridge to Lummi Island.

“We’re looking at all scenarios. Nothing is off the table with numbers that are this big,” Kosa told council members.

In 2022, Whatcom County received state and federal grants totaling $35 million for a 34-car electric ferry to replace the 20-car Whatcom Chief, a diesel-powered craft that was built in 1962.

Now, such an electric ferry will cost about $90 million, and the county would have to find about $50 million more in funding, according to Kosa’s presentation.