Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal, as part of the

BC Ferries British Columbia Ferry Services Inc., operating as BC Ferries (BCF), is a former provincial Crown corporation, now operating as an independently managed, publicly owned Canadian company. BC Ferries provides all major passenger and vehicle ferr ...

system and of Highway 17, is a major transportation facility in

Delta, British Columbia Delta is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, as part of Greater Vancouver. Located on the Fraser Lowland south of Fraser River's south arm, it is bordered by the city of Richmond on the Lulu Island to the north, N ...

, positioned less than from the 49th parallel along the Canada–United States border. It is located at the southwestern end of a artificial causeway that juts out into the Strait of Georgia off the mainland at the community of Tsawwassen. With an approximate size of , it is the largest ferry terminal in North America.

History

2018-11-03 BC Ferries SALISH RAVEN - IMO 9750294 at Tsawwassen Terminal 18-08-28

In the late 1950s, the search for a mainland ferry terminal that would connect British Columbia's Lower Mainland with the Victoria area on

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest by ...

involved extensive scouting of locations, from Steveston to White Rock. Despite concerns of rough seas and bad weather, the favoured site soon became the area offshore from the Tsawwassen First Nation Reserve. Construction of the terminal began in 1959, after provincial transportation Minister Phil Gaglardi, on divided engineering advice, selected the site. Construction of an

artificial island An artificial island is an island that has been constructed by people rather than formed by natural means. Artificial islands may vary in size from small islets reclaimed solely to support a single pillar of a building or structure to those th ...

began, and the causeway was built from the island back towards the mainland. This endeavour used an estimated of boulder, rock, and gravel fill. To connect Highway 99 to the new terminal, an highway was constructed near the southern end of the Deas Tunnel and through the edge of Ladner. This became a portion of Highway 17. The terminal opened on June 15, 1960. In the mid-1990s, a major renovation and expansion of the terminal was undertaken.

Issues

The isolated causeway location of the terminal, while criticized locally in its formative years, has allowed and continues to allow terminal expansion to cope with growing vehicle traffic. In 2003, the Tsawwassen First Nation filed legal action in the BC Supreme Court over the destruction of the

foreshore The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide (in other words, the area within the tidal range). This area can include several types of habitats with various species ...

and other concerns caused by the impact of the terminal and the nearby Roberts Bank Superport. Concerns were also expressed in 2005 about

eutrophication Eutrophication is the process by which an entire body of water, or parts of it, becomes progressively enriched with minerals and nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. It has also been defined as "nutrient-induced increase in phytopla ...

, or a destructive bacterial buildup in the waters between the terminal and the Roberts Bank facility.

Ferry facilities and connections

Currently, there are five berths at the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal. The terminal primarily serves routes travelling to the Swartz Bay ferry terminal, north of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, and the southern

Gulf Islands The Gulf Islands are a group of islands in the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the mainland coast of British Columbia. Etymology The name "Gulf Islands" comes from "Gulf of Georgia," the original term used by George Vancouver in his ...

. On May 1, 1990, a connection from Tsawwassen to Nanaimo called the "Mid-Island Express" was established, providing the fastest surface connection between Northern Vancouver Island and the border with the United States at Blaine, and, since the opening of the South Fraser Perimeter Road, to the

Fraser Valley The Fraser Valley is a geographical region in southwestern British Columbia, Canada and northwestern Washington State. It starts just west of Hope in a narrow valley encompassing the Fraser River and ends at the Pacific Ocean stretching from the ...

and points east. The route ran to Departure Bay until 1997, when the

Duke Point ferry terminal Duke Point is a major ferry terminal owned and operated by BC Ferries that provides ferry service across the Strait of Georgia to Tsawwassen. The ferry terminal is located at Duke Point in Nanaimo and is the only major terminal in the BC Ferrie ...

opened. The quickest path between the terminal and

Active Pass Active Pass ( Saanich: sqθeq) is a strait separating Galiano Island in the north and Mayne Island in the south in the southern Gulf Islands, British Columbia, Canada. It connects the Trincomali Channel in the west and the Strait of Georgia in t ...

, for ferries travelling to the Gulf Islands or to Swartz Bay, passes over approximately of United States waters in the Strait of Georgia. The terminal is served by public transportation through TransLink's 620 bus route.

Notes

References

{{BC Ferries , state=expanded BC Ferries Buildings and structures in Delta, British Columbia Transport in Delta, British Columbia Ferry terminals in British Columbia

History

Issues

Ferry facilities and connections

See also

Notes

References