The CMA-CGM Thames put in to pier 41 Saturday afternoon. the strong breeze had the vessel take 3 tugs to spin it around and back it into its birth.
though not the largest container ships to call in Halifax, CMA-CGM Thames and her class mates are the only vessels to have the forward bridge arrangement. Maersk Patras Was being worked at Pier 42.
Saturday brought two K-line vessels to Fairview Cove.
At the West end, Granville Bridge was worked first. The East end was occupied by George Washington Bridge (below), which took on crane units as they finished on the Granville Bridge. the ships were built in 2005/2006, and are rated for 5642 TEU.
Both ships are working the EC5 Service, with George Washington Bridge running Westbound, and Granville bridge Sailing east.
It appears that the first block of the pier 42 expansion is complete, and work has started on the second. paint markings seem to indicate the new block is 22m in height, about 70′.
the blocks are slipformed, and once complete, will be towed into place and sunk. they will then be filled with aggregate to hold them in place, and capped with the pier top.
The Dartmouth Ferry Christopher Stannix is going in for its 5 year refit. The city issued the tender today. The Christopher Stannix entered service in 2014, and is the first of the 5 newbuilds.
The scope of work is mostly Painting and General repair work plus inspections. there are also a few modifications to match features of the newer boats. Of particular interest to users – The back angle on the benches is being fixed, so they will not so reclined
Interestingly, An additional fender is being added, which requires removing some ballast. the current ballast consists of 273 concrete blocks (2.19 MT) held in place with ratchet straps. and must be reduced to 181 concrete blocks (1.45 MT)
The Bella Vita spent a few days at tall ships Quay, before sailing for Lunenburg Saturday Morning. At 255′ in length, she is the largest purpose built yacht to call in Halifax. The largest yacht to Call in Halifax was the Lone Ranger, which then belonged to a google co-founder, and converted from a ocean going tug.
Bella Vita was reportedly owned by John Risley of Clearwater seafood fame, though it is now available for charter for $640,000us/week +fuel and food.
Most yachts that call in Halifax are in the 130′ range or smaller, though some of the sailing yachts have reached 180′
The Baie St. Paul made its first call to Halifax, Loading Gypsum for Cote Ste. Catherine in Quebec. The ship sailed just after 1400 on Sunday.
Baie St Paul is the first of 4 trillium Class Geared Bulkers, and was completed in China in 2012. CSL Also built 6 new panamax Trillum Class Ships for its Americas fleet, though they are built like traditional ocean going bulkers, and lack the seawaymax form of the Lakers. 2 additional trillium class lakers were built without the self unloading gear.
Though built in China, the ships were not built for ocean voyages, and arrived with temporary reinforcing that was removed on arrival to Canada. Baie St. Paul had additional reinforcing added during last winters layup to allow it perform coastal work. – Previous CSL Lakers were common callers in Halifax, Particularly Atlantic Huron and Salarium
Work on the Halterm Expansion has moved to Pier 9. Dredging was completed at pier 9 Mid may, and the dump scows have been used to prepare the sea bed with coarse gravel loaded at pier 9. the Slip forming equipment is also now on site, and the first forms are being placed on the barge (above left). once the floor is cast, the outside walls and interior dividers will be cast by slip forming until the entire block is constructed. Once complete, it will be towed into place, and filler with gravel.
The Feds announced funding for two port related projects. A total of 47.5 million federally will be spent to upgrade rail between the 2 terminals with the goal of removing 75% of the port related trucks from downtown streets. The announcement was vauge, but it appers trucks will be handled at the Ceres yard, then containers moved by rail to Halterm as required. CN, the port and the City own a great deal of land by Ceres, so there is ample space for expansion.
The second announcement will fix the Windsor Street Exchange with changes to Lady Hammond and the Bedford Highway To improve flow.
The total cost of the two projects in 90 million, with the feds picking up 47.5 milliion, and the rest divided between the Port, Province, City and CN.
Cynically this announcement could be viewed as an attempt by the federal liberals to secure Andy Fillmore’s seat. Most Haligonians I suspect are most interested in the Promised improvements to the Windsor street exchange. that the announcement featured no renderings suggests that the improvements could be seen as politically damming to Fillmore.
Here is what the Release said about the project.
The second project will upgrade the Windsor Street Exchange, which is the main access road to the Port of Halifax. This work includes realigning the Bedford Highway, upgrading Lady Hammond Road and installing new traffic signals to improve traffic flow. These upgrades will reduce traffic congestion, improve safety and increase the reliability and efficiency of freight movements.
Area Councilor Waye Mason tweeted
Only what is in the press release. 'realigning the Bedford Highway, upgrading Lady Hammond Road and installing new traffic signals to improve traffic flow' and that the objective is that trucks can get out of Ceres and get to highway 102.
— Waye Mason (@WayeMason) June 2, 2019
If you look at the mechanics of the Windsor street exchange, the biggest problem is people coming off Joe Howe and crossing the lanes to get to the bridge. At the same time, Joe Howe is the way to get trucks from Ceres to Highway 102. Lets Look at what the Announcement tells us.
“realigning the Bedford Highway” this likely means that the the Bedford highway will now end at an intersection with Joseph Howe. this would also be the entry and exit point for the Ceres Terminal. This is evidenced by the statement “installing new traffic signals to improve traffic flow” suggesting the addition of an intersection. controlling the flow from Joe Howe would solve alot of the congestion problem. “Upgrading Lady Hammond Road” suggests that the street will be extended towards the new intersection, and the existing exchange will likely be simplified.
Though not explicitly mentioned, i would expect transit priority measures to be put in place as well. The Costs also suggest that an overpass is to be constructed, likely to expand the Fairview overpass to accommodate an intersection over the rail lines.
The Changes i have proposed are not without historical President. The Bedford highway previously joined with Dutch Village Rd before Joseph Howe was built, and Lady Hammond served as the main road onto the peninsula via the passage under the train tracks where the fairview overpass now is.
Everything old is new Again.
