Century-old Baddeck wharf getting new lease on life

A roughly 100-year-old community wharf in Victoria County is undergoing $1.2 million worth of repairs to support boating and tourism.

Bill Marchant, a Baddeck village commissioner and member of the community group Waterfront Baddeck, said funding from the federal government and the county will help bring the waterfront infrastructure back to life.

"The wharf hasn't had any serious work done on it for probably a dozen years," he said. "There were obvious problems with the wharf. We had an engineering study done on it last summer ... that identified some issues that we're dealing with."

Marchant said workers with Eagle Beach Contractors of Halifax are currently replacing some of the old wooden pilings and will eventually repave the deck.

The work also includes construction of floating docks, gangways and attachments to make the wharf more accessible.

"The wharf is probably four or five feet above the water level and it's awkward for ... small boats who are docked at the wharf to get on and off their boats, so the floating docks will make it much simpler for them," Marchant said.

The wharf is one of the main attractions on the waterfront, featuring a restaurant called the Freight Shed where boaters can pay docking fees.

It is next to the Baddeck Yacht Club and within sight of the iconic Kidston Island lighthouse and the former summer home of Alexander Graham Bell.

Visitors to the wharf include all sizes of boats and even small cruise ships that come into the Bras d'Or Lake.

The funding for the project is coming from a variety of sources:

• $596,000 from Develop Nova Scotia.
• $484,401 from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.
• $60,000 from the county.
• $20,000 from the village commission.
• $20,000 in community donations.

The work is expected to be finished next spring or summer and will extend the working life of the wharf for another 25 years.

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