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ALAMEDA — A $50 million maintenance and operations center for the ferries that traverse San Francisco Bay officially opened on Thursday.

Along with being a place to dock and repair up to 12 boats at a time, the center at the former Alameda Naval Air Station will be the emergency hub of the Water Emergency Transportation Authority — which operates the ferry system — if a major disaster hits the Bay Area and freeways and bridges are closed.

The spot near the USS Hornet Sea, Air & Space Museum is the new home of WETA’s central bay ferry fleet, or the vessels that operate on its Alameda, Oakland and South San Francisco routes, as well as those that will provide the future Richmond and Treasure Island service.

Up to 100 people, including engineers and crew members, will work at the facility, which has storage for 48,000 gallons of fuel to keep ferries running for up to a week after a disaster.

The goal is to have the ability to shuttle residents who might not be able to travel the roads, as well as to bring food and supplies to areas that are cut off.

“This is an enhancement of our capabilities,” Jody Breckenridge, a member of WETA’s board, told city and state officials who gathered to celebrate the center’s opening with a ribbon cutting and a tour of the 70-foot high, four-story building.

As part of building the center at 670 W. Hornet Ave., a dilapidated pier that was a makeshift home for harbor seals was removed and replaced with a custom-built haul-out.

About 70 seals were lounging on the haul-out Thursday, according to Richard Bangert, a local naturalist who keeps watch on the notoriously shy creatures and who campaigned for the structure to get built.

The effort to build the center also included expanding the San Francisco Bay Trail, construction of a shoreline viewing terrace, bicycle parking, interpretive signs, improved lighting, and landscaping and seating.

Each berthing slip is outfitted with equipment to deliver fuel and utility hook-ups. Some slips are designated for regular maintenance, such as oil changes.

Federal, state and regional funding, including through Proposition 1B, a state transportation bond that voters passed in November 2006, paid for the project.

Thursday’s groundbreaking comes as Alameda officials are working to secure a new ferry terminal near the maintenance center as part of redeveloping the former Navy base.

A regional public transit agency, the Water Emergency Transportation Authority operates ferries on San Francisco Bay under the “San Francisco Bay Ferry” brand.

Its ridership has increased 85 percent since 2012. It currently carries 3.1 million passengers annually.

The authority opened a North Bay Operations and Maintenance Facility on Vallejo’s Mare Island in October 2016 to help meet the growing demand.

“Our ferries have been busier and are working harder,” said Assemblyman Rob Bonta, D-Alameda, who noted that recent California wildfires show the need to be prepared for a disaster.

“It’s important for people to get out front,” Bonta said about the ferry service. “Not to be reactive, but to be proactive.”

Originally known as the San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Authority, WETA was established in 1999. Its goal is to have 44 vessels on 12 routes with 16 terminals by 2035.

The new center is named after Ron Cowan, an East Bay developer who helped create the ferry system and who was a pivotal figure in Alameda politics for decades.

Cowan, who died in January 2017, told those gathered for the groundbreaking of the center in September 2016 that that he recognized the need for a ferry system, and the role it could play during a disaster, after the Loma Prieta earthquake shook the Bay Area in 1989.

Cowan was traveling from Sacramento in a helicopter when the quake hit and he saw that part of the upper deck of the former Bay Bridge had collapsed.

“They asked me to stay and hover over the bridge,” Cowan said. What he witnessed that day showing the need for a coordinated regional response after a disaster, he added, “stayed with me forever.”