Ottawa to spend $7.3M on Wood Islands sediment basin

WOOD ISLANDS, P.E.I. — The federal government is spending $7.3 million on a new holding basin near the Wood Islands ferry terminal on Prince Edward Island’s southeast shore, Transport Canada says.

The basin will be built on federal property west of the terminal. It is designed to hold close to 125,000 cubic metres of sediment filtered during routine harbour dredging, which Transport Canada says is required to keep ferry access safe.

Construction is expected to begin in November and finish before ferry service resumes in the spring. Quebec-based Sani-Sable has been awarded the contract, CBC News reported.

The harbour at Wood Islands is the P.E.I. terminal for the seasonal ferry to Caribou, N.S. Transport Canada has said dredging there is normally done on a five-year cycle, and that a 2025 assessment found more sediment had built up than expected. Where dredged material goes has been a sore point on the Island before, and the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association has raised concerns about depositing sediment at sea because of the risk to lobster grounds.

A holding basin keeps the material on land. The department’s announcement did not say how the sediment will be treated or disposed of once it has been filtered.

The spending follows other recent federal moves on Atlantic transportation, including cuts to Confederation Bridge tolls and ferry fares. Elsewhere on the Island, Province House in Charlottetown has reopened after 12 years.

Story via CBC News, with Transport Canada’s dredging information.

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