By Tina Comeau THE VANGUARD thevanguard.ca Work is underway to ready the ferry terminal on Water Street for the resumption of ferry service between Yarmouth and Portland. Some of the work got underway in December and was completed in early January. Other work is underway now – or scheduled to begin soon – and isn’t expected to all be completed until April. The company that will run the Nova Star ferry service has said it is targeting a May 1 start-up for the ferry service. On Monday afternoon, MP Greg Kerr is slated to provide a further update on the ferry terminal transfer. It is expected he will be more specific on the dollar amount the federal government is contributing to the refurbishment of the ferry terminal building and property. While the federal government previously announced it was committed the funding the bulk of the work at the terminal, at the time it didn’t attach a dollar figure to that pledge, but it will run into the millions. A signing ceremony to officially transfer the ownership of the ferry terminal to the town of Yarmouth took place in early December. The town has identified to Yarmouth Area Industrial Commission to be the project manager for the work. A construction committee is also monitoring the progress. Work that has been carried out has included the cleaning and gutting of the terminal building and the customs’ annex building. The next phase to be carried out includes roof work on both of these buildings, along with reconstruction and refurbishment of the interiors, including ceilings, floors, walls, mechanical and ventilation work. This work has been contracted to Garian Construction, which is one of several local companies that will work on the refurbishment of the terminal. The interior redesign has been carried out with cooperation from Canada Border Services Agency and the ferry operator, Nova Star Cruises. Another change at the terminal will be new customs booths. Design work and quotes are also underway for a new service entrance and gangway, pontoon and wharf repairs. The work taking place at the ferry terminal is said to address short-term needs. Whether a new ferry terminal is on the horizon is a question to be answered at a later time. The idea is for the ferry company to operate some seasons with the refurbished facilities. “What we’re doing now will be for two or three years,” says Yarmouth Warden Murray Goodwin, who is the chair of the industrial commission. He says once the ferry operator has a season or two under its belt, it will be better known what long-term fixes or requirements are needed – which wouldn’t have been known prior to an operator and a vessel being in place. “We want to get it operating, and then ferry operator will know what they need,” Goodwin says. “It will evolve so we know what we need and what we don’t need. The feds have said they’ll be there for that phase of it, so hopefully they’ll keep their word.” Meanwhile, there have been reports in the Portland media that required work to the Ocean Gateway terminal in Maine has not yet begun. A new gangway is said to be needed there. Asked if this makes him nervous, Goodwin says he’s not concerned. “Their big issue there is they’ve got to change the gangway for the boat. I can’t see them not having that ready,” he said. “They don’t have major issues like we do. They just have to change that to make it fit the Nova Star.”
Posted on: Mon, 20 Jan 2014 12:58:54 +0000
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