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New Hudson-Oka ferry boat arrives
New service to be launched this summer
Alycia Ambroziak
The Gazette
Thursday, July 3, 2008
The old barges are still in use, but the new self-propelled ferry is in the background.
Claude Desjardins stood on the edge of the Lake of Two Mountains last week, proudly looking at the refitted Hudson-Oka ferry that had just arrived from Matane.
“It feels good. It’s the culmination of eight years of hard work,” said Desjardins, owner of the ferry line as he walked on to the self-propelled ferry.
The old ferry, basically a flat-bed barge that was towed by power boats, was sent to the Matane Méridien Maritime in Matane, Que., where it was made 16 feet wider and 34 feet longer and fitted with two diesel-powered turbo engines, along with a control tower adorned with a brass bell.
“It became a huge recycling project,” Desjardins said.
The new ferry has been designed to dock in shallow water and can carry 18 cars, compared with the 10 cars the old ferries could accommodate.
Desjardins, who took part in the three-day voyage down the St. Lawrence River from Matane to bring the ferry home, said another refitted ferry will likely be ready in about a month.
“That’s when they will both be put into operation, although I still don’t know the exact date,” he said, adding that in the meantime, the two remaining older ferries will continue to carry cars about every 15 minutes across the lake between Hudson and Oka.
About 160,000 vehicles use the ferry each year.
“What is great about this is that the older ferries were not scrapped, but refitted instead,” Desjardins said.
Wharfs to accommodate the new ferries were also built in Matane.
“The wharfs do not have any more environmental imprint that the old wooden ones and they can be moved according to water levels of the lake,” Desjardins said.
“We have worked hard to accommodate everyone.”
Desjardins would not say how much the new ferries and wharfs cost.
Desjardin’s initial plan was to build a concrete wharf to accommodate the new ferries, but the town of Hudson had blocked that idea.
Although the new set-up received approval from the Bureau d’audience publique sur l’environnement and the provincial sustainable development and environment minister, some residents are nevertheless worried about increased traffic along Main Rd.
“Traffic (on the ferry) is forecast to increase and ... any increases in traffic will be borne by us, the taxpayers,” said Diane Laheurte, a Hudson resident who had lobbied against the new ferry system. “Increased traffic will mean road repairs.”
Hudson Mayor Elizabeth Corker said the new ferries will not necessarily amount to a significant increase in traffic.
“The two new ferries which hold 18 cars each will replace the four old ones that held 10 cars each so, in the long run, there will be no great change in capacity,” she said. “That means there shouldn’t be any great change in traffic. There have always been bottlenecks, especially on holiday weekends.”
Desjardins said the new ferries will be faster. He expects to make one more round trip each hour with the new system.
“So even though the four old ferries carried a total of 40 vehicles, at 10 vehicles each, and the two new ones will carry a total of 36 vehicles, at 18 vehicles each, the amount of vehicles ferried across the lake should remain about the same,” he said.
Sylvie Bérubé, an Ottawa resident who was waiting Saturday for a friend to arrive on the ferry, said she liked the old ferry system but admitted that the new ferry would likely result in faster service.
“I’ll miss the quaintness of the old one, but this new ferry is cute – and it will probably accelerate operations,” said Bérubé who has been using the ferry for 20 years, whenever she goes to Montreal. “And people taking the ferry will likely be less nervous. The old system seemed somewhat old as we had to drive across wooden boards to get on.”
Ron Lowe and Patricia Bower, who just moved back to Hudson from the United Kingdom, said the new system was welcome, especially in that it did not necessitate dredging the lake to accommodate the larger ferry.
“The old system was charming, but then again, a horse and cart used to be charming.”
Desjardins said he considers this season a transitional year and plans to officially inaugurate the new ferries next year, to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the service.