Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
All wrapped up like a Christmas present, the shell of the Sanpoil ferry heads through Odessa Monday on its way to Grand Coulee for final assembly. It is expected to take over the Keller Ferry route in July.
The new ferry meant to replace the Martha S. at Keller on the Columbia River traveled through Odessa Monday on its way along State Route 21 toward Grand Coulee. State transportation employees helped ensure that the oversized vehicle being towed on a tractor-trailer rig would clear the overhead power and telephone lines within the town of Odessa.
The new ferry has been named Sanpoil, an anglicized version of the name of the original native inhabitants of the Keller area along the Columbia River.
The Sanpoil is 116 feet long and can carry up to 20 cars or two 80,000-pound trailer trucks plus nine cars at one time. Construction of the vessel will cost $12 million, with $9.6 million coming from the federal government, $2 million coming from the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and the remainder from the state of Washington.
The Martha S. has served the river-crossing route at Keller since 1948 but is now so old that replacement parts must be custom-made when there is a breakdown. The new vessel will provide greater reliability and larger capacity than the Martha S.
When the Sanpoil rolled through Odessa on Monday, it was headed for Crescent Bay near Grand Coulee Dam, where it will undergo final assembly. It is expected that the vessel will be launched this July.
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