A new feasibility report is looking at the possibility of replacing the Englishtown Ferry with a bridge over St. Ann’s Bay – at a cost of $45 million.
The Englishtown Ferry has connected passengers to northern Cape Breton for decades, but long lineups in the summer and icy conditions in the winter are affecting service.
That has Victoria County Council calling on the provincial government to replace the ferry with a bridge, but that idea is drawing mixed reaction from local residents.
“A bridge would be nice, but I think a bridge is a long ways off,” says Englishtown resident Steve MacAskill. “I would appreciate seeing a little better service from the ferry that’s there to make sure local residents are better taken care of.”
Jean Christie, who works at a post office in the area, worries a bridge would result in job losses.
“There’s not a lot of jobs in this area, the ferry being one of the full-time, year-round employers in the area, I think it would have a big impact,” says Christie.
The province has prepared a report, examining the cost of a bridge that would replace the Torquil MacLean ferry.
“All of our infrastructure is important in getting people to and from their destination, but at the same time, we certainly have to maintain cost as a factor and value of investment,” says Nova Scotia Transportation Minister Geoff MacLellan.
The Englishtown Ferry is the busiest cable ferry in the province, carrying an average of 226,000 vehicles and 470,000 passengers every year.
MacLellan says if the province decides to build a new bridge, it won’t happen anytime soon.
“There’s an issue of height and many other things that would go into the engineering of a bridge, so, without question, these are long-term discussions,” says MacLellan.
