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Ferry service on the highway that connects Wilbur and Republic, will be down for just over five weeks in mid-summer, a Washington State Department of Transportation official said late last week.

Al Gilson, a DOT media spokesman from Spokane, said ferry service will be down from about July 8, to Aug. 14, when the new “Sanpoil” goes into service.

The current ferry, the Martha S, will cease service after over 60 years of crossing Lake Roosevelt connecting north and south sections of SR-21.

Gilson stated that the five-week break will allow a $2 million conversion of the two terminal areas to accommodate the new 116-foot ferry currently under construction at Crescent Bay in Grand Coulee.

A Spokane firm, Max J. Kundy Company, is fabricating materials to alter the dock areas so they will fit the new, larger ferry.

Gilson said that after launching, the Sanpoil will go to the dock areas where final fitting will be done.

During the five-week period, motorists traveling on U.S. 2, will have to drive north, either from Davenport or through Grand Coulee to reach the Keller and Republic areas.