Fishermen's Terminal Renovation at Port of Seattle

The Port of Seattle's Fishermen's Terminal has served as the major commercial fishing port in the Pacific Northwest for nearly a century. A renewal and reconfiguration project of Docks 5–10 at Fishermen's Terminal was completed in April 2008. The renovated facility improved safety and access, maximized efficiency, and provided for a wide range of uses and vessel sizes and types. The project is unique in that it is one of the few successful renovations of a major commercial fishing port in the United States that balanced technical design issues and complex social, economic, historic, and environmental issues. This paper presents the planning, stakeholder coordination, regulatory, and design considerations addressed during the project. Many innovative and sustainable design processes were incorporated into the overall project. Geotechnical site conditions indicated poorly consolidated soil beginning at the mudline. Marine Oil Terminal Engineering and Maintenance Standards' (MOTEMS) non-linear static pushover guidelines were used to design to a seismic performance Level 2. Major engineering design components included demolition, dredging, fixed pier, floating dock, and anchorage piling systems, civil utilities, electrical utilities, cranes, new noncorrosive HDPE ladders, and appurtenances. Environmental controls prevented discharge of contaminants into Lake Washington Ship Canal during design and construction. Cooperation between the Port, the design team, the Fishermen's Terminal Advisory Committee (FTAC), and the fishing community during planning, design, and construction ensured a facility built to meet the current and future needs of the modern fishing fleet.