With its pollution-cutting Fairview-Ridley Connector Corridor now 75% complete, the Port of Prince Rupert is being honoured for its environmental record.
The corridor is a five-kilometre road stretching along the southwestern edge of Kaien Island, on which the city and much of the port operations sit.
The $115 million project will be fully activated when DP World’s Fairview Terminal expansion is completed in 2022, enabling container truck traffic to be rerouted away from public roads to the new port authority-owned route. The shift will cut the 20 kilometres to five.
“The Fairview-Ridley Connector Corridor is designed to get trucks off downtown streets, improve safety as we grow, and reduce the environmental impacts of trucking activities in Prince Rupert,” said port president and CEO Shaun Stevenson. “We anticipate the changes will cut emissions for each truck trip by about 75%.”
The port said that throughout the pandemic crews from the Coast Tsimshian Northern Contractors Alliance, a local First Nations joint venture, have worked around the clock on rotating shifts on the infrastructure project.
The port said the connector is integral to the sustainable growth of the port’s intermodal ecosystem and will create new supply chain efficiencies through the development of logistics services like the Ridley Island Export Logistics Platform and South Kaien Import Logistics Park.
Meanwhile, Green Marine, an environmental certification program for North America’s marine industry, has again found the port to be one of the highest environmental performers in North America. A Green Marine performance report showed the port achieved the highest level in environmental criteria related to community impacts; spill prevention, aquatic invasive species, waste management and environmental leadership.
The report singled out port programs such as Green Wave, which provides financial incentives to marine carriers to reduce emissions and underwater noise; annual greenhouse gas and air pollution inventories and forecasts; the Community Investment Fund for legacy community projects, including salmon enhancement; and its proactive collaboration with all port users to understand the environmental conditions of the air, water and land that surrounds Prince Rupert harbour.
“The Prince Rupert Port Authority takes immense pride in demonstrating our commitment to environmental stewardship,” Stevenson said. “We are grateful for the guidance and inspiration Green Marine has provided to our port over the past 10 years as we work together to mitigate the impacts of shipping on our environment.” •
