Duke Point, British Columbia
Coordinates: 49°09′41″N 123°53′30″W / 49.161389°N 123.891792°W
Duke Point is a geographical location in the extreme southeastern part of the city of Nanaimo in British Columbia. It is located on a thin peninsula to the east of the Nanaimo River estuary, just across the Northumberland Channel from Gabriola Island. Located at Duke Point is a major industrial park, which includes sawmills and a pulp mill. BC Ferries operates a major terminal at Duke Point, which provides access to ferry service across the Strait of Georgia to Tsawwassen. The terminal was built in 1997 to divert commercial vehicle traffic away from BC Ferries' other main Nanaimo dock, located at a point in the middle of the city known as Departure Bay, thus easing traffic jams through Nanaimo's city centre. The ferry terminal marks the southern terminus of Highway 19, which connects the terminal to the Trans-Canada Highway just south of Nanaimo's city centre.
Duke Point Ferry Terminal
Duke Point is the only major terminal (opened 1997) in the BC Ferries system without direct transit bus service.[1]
Incidents
On December 20th, 2011, the Coastal Inspiration experienced a hard landing upon arrival at Duke Point terminal. The terminal berth sustained significant damage and the vessel’s port side doors were also damaged. The terminal required extensive repairs, requiring a closure of over four months, with all service re-routed through Departure Bay,[2] finally re-opening on May 1, 2012.