Construction at Heriot Bay-Whaletown terminals ending, the new ferries

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Construction on the BC Ferries Heriot Bay–Whaletown route will soon be coming to an end, and we will probably have a brand-new-to-us hybrid electric ferry this summer. Sheila Reynolds, Senior Communications Advisor with BC Ferries, explained: “Construction at the terminals actually began last spring to replace both berths at Heriot Bay and Whaletown, which were both nearing the end of their service lives and needed replacing.” “While the majority of that work over the past year didn’t disrupt ferry service, the project did require that both terminals be closed for three weeks in February. Since March 2, both of the terminals have been replaced and are safely open to customers, with regular service between Quadra and Cortes operating as usual. During the closures, people would have noticed that there was water taxi service, shuttle, bus service, and barge service for essential goods and services.” “We’re well aware that these disruptions and construction in the community can be unnerving or cause some anxieties for people, but your communities were very collaborative. It went remarkably smoothly, actually. There weren’t any significant hiccups. Passengers seemed to get back and forth as needed. They did have a lot of lead times where people were pretty well prepared and aware, but the smoothness was largely due to the Quadra and Cortes communities, who are not only patient, but extremely collaborative throughout the planning, construction and during those temporary service changes. It was clear people understood and appreciated that this short-term disruption was going to result in long-term improvement.” Cortes Currents: How did they help out? Sheila Reynolds: “We are collaborating with all sorts of partners—residents, Indigenous partners, contractors, regional stakeholders. There were lots of conversations about how the closure period could be shortened, because originally it was going to be a longer closure period and potentially more disruptive. “With the upgrades, the load limit is now increased to the highway-legal limit of 63,500 kilograms. That’s actually double the capacity of the old berths. Both berths also have hydraulic lifts, so they won’t be subject to tidal restrictions that the route used to experience with very low tides. The ramps are much wider, so trucks will be able to maneuver at Whaletown much more easily. For foot passengers, it’s a wider pathway, so people with bikes and luggage or other things will find it easier to navigate on and off of the vessels. And most importantly, the berths are designed to accommodate the arrival of the 'new-to-you' larger Island Nagalis.”