Floating boardwalk on Halifax waterfront won't be ready for weeks

It will be weeks before a floating boardwalk will allow pedestrians to bypass a busy construction site on Halifax's waterfront, even as thousands of cruise ship passengers are expected to flood the downtown core this month.

The Waterfront Development Corporation said Monday it wants to have the temporary bridge in place in the next two to three weeks, with hopes of having the bridge installed by Canada Day. However, the bridge may not be open for the long weekend. 

"We would've loved to be fully open and ready but at this point we're not," said Jennifer Angel, the organization's acting president and CEO.

"It'll relieve some of the pressure that's building on the streets."

The temporary boardwalk will connect the Cable Wharf with a wharf in front of the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. It's to replace a section of the boardwalk that was torn up to make way for Queen's Marque — a luxury condo, commercial and hotel project that will be built on the waterfront over at least the next two years.

Angel said in the coming days, crews will install piles for the floating boardwalk and start putting in sections of the 160-metre-long, three-metre wide structure.

Five cruise ships have docked in Halifax so far this month, with two scheduled this week. Thousands of people are expected to visit the area for Canada 150 celebrations and Tall Ships events.

The project has contributed to congestion as tourists try to make their way around the construction site, forced into a detour along Lower Water and Prince streets.

"The waterfront has been cut in half a bit," said Cheryl Doherty, the manager and co-owner of the Old Triangle. Her pub is a couple of blocks away from the waterfront at the corner of Prince Street and Bedford Row.

"It's a little dangerous for pedestrians, I think, at the moment. Even the pedestrian routes that are there are not very well marked."

People will give directions

Doherty spent Monday morning painting her pub's patio railings, trying to make her corner of Prince Street more appealing.

Though Doherty welcomes the development, "so much of the city just looks unattractive" and more signs could help visitors, she said.

"More visible routes, maybe they need to paint a yellow brick road," she said. 

Signs are part of the plan, said Angel.

"We're going to even station humans at key congestion areas … informing tourists of the best pathways around the construction site," she said.

Kiosks can open after June 15

The Queen's Marque project has also displaced two dozen kiosks that used to line the boardwalk. 

They were relocated to an area between Summit Place and the Salter Street block.

The food and retail vendors can't open until washroom facilities are installed in the area, Angel said, adding they are on track to be in place by June 15.