Long waits for ferry riders heading home from 4th of July

It was a long trip home Monday from the Fourth of July weekend for thousands of state ferry riders.

Wait times stretched to three hours in Kingston, and some drivers had their trips extended by a closure of the Hood Canal Bridge for marine traffic.

“Pretty normal, the Fourth of July is always busy, and the line is long, but we don’t mind,” said Kyle Walsh as he waited in line outside Kingston for a boarding pass from state troopers.

In busy times, troopers hand out the passes to make sure no one cuts in line.

In Kingston people flooded into the business district as they waited for their ferry.

Wait times reached two hours on Bainbridge Island, Vashon Island and at Clinton on Whidbey Island.

Travel was roughest in the San Juan Islands.

People who live on Lopez Island counted nearly 300 cars in line late Monday morning, and many were not expected to leave until a ferry scheduled for early in the evening.

An early morning sailing canceled for lack of crew, and a nearly four-hour boat breakdown set the tone for a day of frustrating delays.

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