Tsawwassen terminal - photos & discussion

[Low Light Mike]

Jul 15, 2009 18:17:01 GMT -8 Dane said:

For a few weeks Rte 1 and Rte 30 have switched berths at Tsawwassen. Rte 1 is in 3, 30 in 5. I asked around about what's going on and there was no (reasonable/good) answer. For awhile, three or four weeks ago, they were doing work which prevented a Coastal from going into 3 or 5 (depending on the day), but it would appear that has been completed and the crane & barges are working away at 4.

[Ferryman]

Tsawwassens Berth 4 is currently recieving brand new dolphins. There's also a bit of on shore construction being done in front of Berth 4 as well, so it looks like this berth will be out of service for a while.




Later in the day, I had some time to spare at Tsawwassen. So here's a few random photos, just because.



Tent walkway from the lower floor of the berth 3 waiting room, which leads you through the berth 4 construction to get to the main terminal holding lanes.



Snow flurries at Tsawwassen



Quay market

[Ferryman]

Here's a photo update of Tsawwassens Berth 4 from today. The ramps on the car deck ramps have been removed, along with the cables that would hold the counter weights. Most of the dolphins are gone, and demolition has already started on the rest of the berth. Tarps are draped over the windows of the foot passenger walkway which runs right under the upper car deck ramp of that berth.



Parts of the dock are splayed out on barges just offshore from the terminal.



From Fred Gingel park, the terminal is noticably under construction with its cranes.

[DENelson83]

Are they making TSW berth 4 into a floating berth? I hope so, although the relevant service notice is saying otherwise.

[Mill Bay]

Nothing but destruction and devestation where berth 4 used to be:

[Low Light Mike]

Construction at Tsawwassen's berths 3 & 4:

On May 9, 2010, the footie-pax on the arriving ships at Berth-3 disembarked via the main car deck:



The terminal improvement sign:



Interesting how they show the ship at an angle.



- you'd think they could have used pictures of Brett & Donella, instead of the CG models.



View of empty Berth-4 and under-renovation Berth-3 building (and the lack of a foot-ramp for berth-3)





The floating shop in Berth-4 bay:

[gordon]

How will all this work at Tsawwassen affect terminal capacity during the busy Summer season?

Note : David Hahn is on Bill Good tomorrow morning.

[ferryfanyvr]

It would be nice if they could get the Berth 3 overhead walkway in place for summer, but I'm not holding my breath. Even though rt30 carries fewer footsies than rts 1 and 2 the numbers DO substantially increase in the summer. It'll be interesting when the 100's of kids head over to camp each week.

[Koastal Karl]

This might of already been answered but I was at Tsawwassen yesterday and are they redoing berth 4 or are they getting rid of it all together??? Seeing they hardly ever use berth 4 anymore!

[Low Light Mike]

Jun 12, 2010 8:17:23 GMT -8 Koastal Karl said:

This might of already been answered but I was at Tsawwassen yesterday and are they redoing berth 4 or are they getting rid of it all together??? Seeing they hardly ever use berth 4 anymore!

I think I took pictures of the artist-rendition of the planned changes, and posted them earlier in this thread. Look for a post in late April or early May in this thread, with a joke about Donella.

[Ferryman]

Berth 4 is being completely rebuilt. Berth 3 is also affected by the upgrades, and has no overhead walkway for the time being. That leaves Berth 5 and 2 as the only berths with the overhead walkway still. The construction is supposed to last for quite a while yet.

[lmtengs]

Jun 12, 2010 8:29:13 GMT -8 Ferryman said:

Berth 4 is being completely rebuilt. Berth 3 is also affected by the upgrades, and has no overhead walkway for the time being. That leaves Berth 5 and 2 as the only berths with the overhead walkway still. The construction is supposed to last for quite a while yet.

... How long is quite a while? Up to two years? Less? More?

[Ferryman]

I believe the projected finish time is for December of this year. Until then, it might create some chaos with delays this summer, if ships are ever waiting on each other to unload/load. Especially once the Bowen Queen comes online for Route 9a.

[lmtengs]

Jun 12, 2010 11:54:21 GMT -8 Ferryman said:

I believe the projected finish time is for December of this year. Until then, it might create some chaos with delays this summer, if ships are ever waiting on each other to unload/load. Especially once the Bowen Queen comes online for Route 9a.

What's the difference between route 9a and 9b? I have some ideas, but I've never been sure.

[Curtis]

Jun 20, 2010 20:41:59 GMT -8 @lmtengs said:

What's the difference between route 9a and 9b? I have some ideas, but I've never been sure.

Well to answer this, there is no Route 9b, just Route 9a. It is essentially Route 9, just with a different schedule that is operated by the Bowen Queen during the summer season.

Furthermore...

Jun 20, 2010 22:22:08 GMT -8 @lmtengs said:

The surplus berth at Saltery Bay looks like it's falling apart a bit. Would that loose board affect a ships' docking there?

I don't exactly know what you mean here, but I assume this loose board you speak of is on the berth's wing wall seen in the picture to the right-hand side. In which case it would most likely not affect docking.

[Low Light Mike]

Images of Tsawwassen terminal at 10:30pm on July 31st, from the deck of the Coastal Inspiration in berth #3.


The berth-4 gap:




Bowen Queen in berth #1, Queen of New Westminster arriving at berth #2




The Queen of New Westminster's foot passengers make their way to the pick-up area and parking lots, after the ferry docked in berth #2 for it's last arrival of the night.




Churning water at an empty Tsawwassen terminal, as the C'Inspiration departs berth #3 at 10:45pm.

[lmtengs]

So they only use the lower vehicle deck on that last sailing?

[Ferryman]

Aug 2, 2010 11:58:30 GMT -8 @lmtengs said:

So they only use the lower vehicle deck on that last sailing?

Only if they think they can get away with only loading the lower deck. Since she's docked in Berth 2 overnight anyways, it makes sense to do it that way. It saves them having to use Berth 5 to unload, and then reposition the ship in Berth 2 (Crew overtime). Another thing that is interesting to see with the New West, is on Sunday nights when she sits empty off of Tsawwassen for nearly an hour while the Queen of Nanaimo unloads/loads for her last sailing.

[Low Light Mike]

Aug 2, 2010 11:58:30 GMT -8 @lmtengs said:

So they only use the lower vehicle deck on that last sailing?

Yes, just one deck used. I supposed that if it has been a busy sailing with some of the upper car-deck used, the New Westminster would have waited for the Coastal Inspiration to vacate berth-3.

[Koastal Karl]

Not just Sunday nights she did that Friday night too after I got off her 6pm sailing! Is berth 1 out of service??? Sunday evening when I came back on the Coastal Celebration at 6pm from Tsawwassen the Bowen Queen was coming into berth 3. I dont see that too often.

[Low Light Mike]

Tsawwassen Terminal's berth-4 rebuild, as seen on August 26, 2010:
- gotta love the floating construction site.










- They're building a beach ! ;D (not really)

[Low Light Mike]

One more picture of the Berth-4 construction at Tsawwassen terminal, from August 26, 2010:

[WettCoast]

One = Two; 2=1

Tsawwassen Terminal Upgrade Plans 1976


From the D.O. Thorne collection

Click on picture to link to a larger detailed version...

[Low Light Mike]

Here is a new thread for photos of Tsawwassen terminal, and discussion related to those photos.

[Low Light Mike]

Apr 12, 2010 20:02:49 GMT -8 @lmtengs said:

Here's TSA Terminal a little over a year ago.