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Duke Point ferry terminal closed until April

It will still be months before ferry service resumes between B.C. Ferries’s Duke Point and Tsawwassen terminals.

It will still be months before ferry service resumes between the Duke Point and Tsawwassen terminals.

Work continues on disassembling the B.C. Ferries Duke Point berth after the Coastal Inspiration crashed into the dock Dec. 20, damaging the ferry’s bow doors and the terminal’s lower vehicle ramp.

Deborah Marshall, B.C. Ferries spokeswoman, said the terminal will stay closed until mid-April.

“Contractors are expected to finish disassembling the berth until the end of January and then reassemble the components from February to April,” she said.

A B.C. Ferries investigation into the collision is expected to wrap up later this month, but John Cottreau of the Transportation Safety Board said their investigators continue to gather information.

“The No. 1 question I get asked is the timeline and it’s something I just can’t answer,” he said. “You can never foresee where an investigation is going to go. It’s a complex thing. All I can say is we will take the time to ensure a thorough job is done.”

Marshall said repairs to the berth will cost several million dollars.

“B.C. Ferries is insured so we won’t be paying that much,” she said. “We’re continuing to work with our insurers”

The crash, officially called 'hard landing', forced vehicle and passenger traffic to Tsawwassen to be rerouted through the Departure Bay terminal and Marshall said the change has been smooth.

“We had some heavy traffic over the holidays and some lineups spilled out onto Stewart Avenue,” she said. “But for the most part, it’s gone quite well.”

The Coastal Inspiration returns to service Wednesday (Jan. 25) on the Departure Bay to Tsawwassen route.