A key ferry link that helps reduce the travel time to northern Cape Breton is staying out of service until mid-June due to ice floe that impacted a repair project’s progress.
The Department of Transportation says that there’s been additional, unforeseen work to complete the work on the Englishtown ferry crossing.
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The short crossing goes across St. Ann’s Bay, about 60 kilometres east of Sydney, between Englishtown and Jersey Cove.
When the ferry can’t operate it means motorists have to take a winding, 24-kilometre drive around the bay to go from the Trans Canada Highway to the Cabot Trail highway, which continues into the Cape Breton highlands.
Marla MacInnis, a spokeswoman for the transportation department, says one of the issues is the existing slip at the crossing site has been undermined more than anticipated.
She says issues with ice floe moving through the narrow channel have also slowed the project’s progress.