Electric ferries, new terminal for Halifax-bedford
Drivers stuck in traffic on the Bedford Highway have grumbled about a Bedford ferry for years.
But on Monday, Halifax West MP Lena Metlege Diab had good news for them: “The Mill Cove ferry is coming.”
The $258-million project will buy five electric ferries, a new net-zero terminal in Mill Cove and the gutting and complete renovation of the decades-old Halifax terminal. The project also involves building a maintenance facility for the vessels and a bridge that will be built over the CN rail line in Bedford for vehicles and pedestrians to get to the Mill Cove terminal.
The target to have it up and running is 2028.
Representatives from all three levels of government made the worst-kept surprise announcement at the Bedford Basin Yacht Club on Monday.
“No more studies. No more plans . . . no more consultations and no more funding debates,” said Coun. Tim Outhit (Bedford - Wentworth). “This is happening.” HRM is still in the process of buying the land, however, and approval from Transport Canada is one of the next steps.
EVERYONE PITCHING IN
Ottawa is contributing $155.7 million, the Nova Scotia government will contribute $65 million and Halifax Regional Municipality will provide more than $38 million.
In September 2022, the expected costs of the terminal escalated to $288 million. At that point, council voted to go with a cheaper option at $215 million — but that was two years ago and construction prices have continued to rise.
The building will also be home to a library but HRM is covering the full bill of $15 million for that project.
“The people of Bedford have waited a long time for additional community space and that new library and it’s coming, and it’s going to be here on the waterfront,” said Outhit.
“I still have this vision where we’re going to be able to walk, cycle, bus, drive to our waterfront, read a book, have a coffee, have an ice cream cone, watch the ships coming and going and connect by boardwalk over to Dewolf Park.”
He said this project has rejuvenated the Bedford waterfront and “will take a pile of rocks and turn it into the hub of Bedford.”
HOW WILL IT WORK?
The five new ferries are entirely different from the ones now scooting back and forth. Not only are they electric, they’re smaller and faster, carrying 150-200 people, said Dave Reage, executive director of Halifax Transit.
“It’s a smaller, sleeker, faster vessel but with the number we have, that allows for the cycle time through to have a 15-minute frequency in rush hour,” Reage said.
While the current ferries go about eight knots, the top speed of the new ferries is upward of 20 knots.
One of the many items on the to-do list is a staffing plan. In the past, Halifax Transit had to cancel several transit trips due to staffing shortages.
“We will have to dramatically increase the number of ferry crews that are operating the service,” Reage told reporters. “That’s part of the work that is still to come.”
The massive renovation at the Halifax terminal is needed to charge the new ferries and keep up with more ferry traffic in the future.
“We need to keep the traditional ferry service operating and build capacity for these new vessels. And they actually have a different hull design so they won’t fit into where the current ones go.”
As far as switching out the current fleet with electric ferries, Reage said that’s not in the works as the old fleet still has about 20 years of life left.
MORE FERRY TERMINALS AND RAIL?
There was also the hint of two more terminals down the road.
“I believe this is just the beginning,” said Outhit.
As part of HRM’S Rapid Transit Strategy, terminals in Larry Uteck and Shannon Park are also being considered. Outhit, who will not be running for his Bedford seat in the October election, said he’d like to see a terminal in Burnside.
And Outhit said he still hopes that one day commuter rail will be in parts of the municipality.
“This is the best solution right now. It is the beginning of a network that will move people.”
Nearly every speaker said HRM needs projects like these to address historic population growth.
“Once again, as Nova Scotians, we turn to the water to navigate the challenges and the obstacles (of population growth). I celebrate HRM’S vision for the Bedford Basin and I see this as only the beginning,” said Timothy Halman, minister of Environment and Climate Change.