Port of Halifax Gets $47.5 Million
CBJ — The federal government is providing the Port of Halifax with $47.5 million from Ottawa to boost its capacity to handle goods, but the big news for most residents will be the resulting reduction in container truck traffic in the downtown core.Ā The noise and smell has plagued the city for decades.
Federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau made the announcement not far from the South End Container Terminal — the largest terminal of its kind in Eastern Canada.
“We could have the best products in the world, but if we can’t get them to our customers quickly and reliably, we will lose business to other suppliers,” Garneau said at a news conference at the Cunard Centre.
“We are a country of traders. That is why our ports are so important.”
Garneau said the federal money will cover half the cost of two projects, the first of which will increase storage capacity at the port by using an existing rail line through the downtown to connect the South End Container Terminal to the Fairview Cove Container Terminal, which is north of the city’s downtown.
The improved rail line will be used to shuttle containers from the south end, though the downtown and deposit them at Fairview Cove, where they will be picked up by trucks waiting outside the downtown area.
The second project will upgrade the Windsor Street Exchange and the Bedford Highway, the main access points to the port. Four new rail-mounted cranes will be purchased for the two terminals.
The two projects are expected to create more than 800 jobs during construction.
