With 162 steel pilings driven into the sea floor and actual dock construction only a few months away, work on the Clinton ferry dock is on schedule.

Russ East, a dock construction administrator with Washington State Ferries, told a few Whidbey Island residents this week they could expect to see the second half of their new ferry dock take shape starting in May.

At a meeting of the Islands Ferry Advisory Committee Thursday night at Trinity Lutheran Church, both East and WSF’s new CEO, Mike Thorne, tried to give islanders reasons to believe in the cash-strapped agency. East’s good news had to do with the impact on those who live closest to the construction.

“Most of the noisy activity has gone away,” he said, though noting that some construction workers will be doing some metal grinding over the next few months.

Unlike in other places in the WSF system, dock construction is going full-tilt in Clinton. During the past two years, the ferry system has been forced to put a number of dock construction projects on hold due to a lack of funds.

East said the Clinton project is about 20 percent finished. The entire project is slated for completion in 2003. He noted that ferry fans will soon be able to watch the construction from the comfort of their own computer screens. Later this spring, WSF will mount cameras on a barge owned by dock project contractor, Mason Construction.

Though intended primarily to be a tool for checking environmental compliance, images captured by the cameras will be put on WSF’s Web site, www.wsdot.gov/ferries.

Thorne, who took over as WSF’s chief late last year, attempted to inspire confidence in his agency. A former Oregon state legislator, Thorne said he plans to take a hard look at the ferry system’s “cost structure” and efficiency.

“I live in a world where we can always do better,” he said.