These are busy days for the Ministry of Transportation in the Kingston region. The MTO is currently working on two projects that will benefit travellers, both on the water and the highways.
The first is the redevelopment and expansion of the Wolfe Island Ferry docks in Marysville as well as the Limestone City. MTO ferry supervisor Nathan Baron says the work continues.
“We’re very early stages of the construction. The contractor is just building the foundation for the new docks.” Baron said.
The docks will eventually welcome a brand new vessel, the Wolfe Islander 4. A state-of-the-art first of its kind in North America electric ferries, according to Baron, it’s all about usage.
“The new dock configuration will give us more breadth of the dock and then we’ll have two berths at the end where the new boat will be held,” Baron said.
“It’ll also have facilities for the new electrification because the new boat is electric.”
The Wolfe Island ferry docks project is expected to be completed in late 2023. There’s also construction activity just east of Gananoque on the 401 in the eastbound lanes.
Frank Pinder,, MTO area construction manager, says that project will eventually be a commercial vehicle inspection facility.
“The facilities that were here were out of date and not as capable to deal with modern technologies that’s in trucks today. This facility, I understand, is going to allow our inspectors to do more detailed mechanical inspections in a proper environment,” Pinder explained.
Completion date for the truck inspection stations is anticipated for the spring of next year. The other half of the project, the new truck rest area, is located across the highway off the westbound lanes.
Pinder says this part of the project is about 80 per cent complete.
“Yes, Joe Average can pull over,” Pinder explained. “It’s designed and intended for trucks, but anybody would be able to pull over. There’ll be a washroom facility.
“The site will be fully illuminated and open 24-7 all through the year.”
Pinder says the rest area should be up and open this summer.