Friday ferries cancelled, bridge traffic restricted by gale in Northumberland Strait

The ferries between Nova Scotia and P.E.I. were cancelled again Friday and traffic on Confederation Bridge was restricted most of the day as a gale blew through the Northumberland Strait.

At 6 a.m., Confederation Bridge recorded wind speeds of 96 km/h with gusts of 125 km/h. Traffic restrictions put in place Thursday morning remained until just before 6 p.m. Friday, wihch meant no high-sided vehicles, such as transport trucks, could cross. All Northumberland Ferries sailings were cancelled Thursday and Friday.

Michel Le Chasseur, general manager of Strait Crossing Bridge Ltd., the company that operates Confederation Bridge, said about 75 trucks were waiting on each side of the bridge Friday morning. 

There are generally about 50 incidents of bridge restrictions each year, mostly October through March, Le Chasseur said.

Windy weekend ahead

Although the gale warning in the strait is now over, it was still quite windy across P.E.I. Friday.

"While more exposed areas like East Point and North Cape did see gusts over 80 km/h today, most areas saw winds in the 50 to near 70 km/h range, an improvement over yesterday," said CBC meteorologist Jay Scotland.  

"Winds will continue to ease tonight becoming westerly from 20-40 km/h but another round of gusty winds is ahead for tomorrow afternoon. While it won't be as windy as today, Saturday afternoon could see gusts from 40 to over 60 km/h."

Saturday is forecast to be mostly cloudy with a slight chance of isolated showers through the day ahead of periods of rain Saturday night into Sunday. Scotland said temperatures will be in the 17-18 C range.

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