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186 BORDEN AVE
Port Borden,
Prince Edward Island
C0B 1X0
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Prince Edward Island Tourism Region : Red Sands Shore
Description From Owner:
- Established 1917 when it became the PEI terminal for ferry service to the mainland. Town incorporated 1919. Named for Sir Robert Borden, then Prime Minister of Canada. PO Port Borden from 1918.
Address of this page:
http://pei.ruralroutes.com/BordenPEI
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An ice-breaking ferry that served PEI across the Northumberland Strait for 35 years is spending her retirement years in Chicago. The 116-metre (372-feet) MV Abegweit is now the Club House and Operations Centre of the Columbia Yacht Club. The club bought the ship because Chicago city ordinances precluded their building a clubhouse on the waterfront, so they permanently moored the ship at their facility.
Abegweit derives from the Mi'kmac Epekwit'k, their name for PEI and means "cradled (or cradle) on the waves." The "Abby" as she was known locally, was built in Sorel, QC for Canadian National Railways and at the time was the world's most powerful icebreaker.
The growth of traffic soon required a larger vessel and CN Marine built a 125-metre (401-feet) ferry in St. John, NB in 1981. The new ship was to be called MV Straitway, but during construction it was decided to call her Abegweit.
To do this, the first Abegweit was renamed MV Abby. The Abby left service in 1982 and the new MV Abegweit ended her service in 1999 after the Confederation Bridge was opened.
She spent several years in Texas and then went to India in 2004 to be scrapped.
With permission from 'Prince Edward Island Place Names' David E. Scott 2011
The decision to build the Confederation bridge to link PEI with the Canadian mainland was by no means unanimous.
The decision to build the world's longest bridge to link PEI with the Canadian mainland was by no means unanimous.
40.6 per cent of the voters in the 1988 plebiscite voted against the bridge, many fearing it could adversely affect the island's stand-alone charm.
But since 59.4 per cent voted in favour of the bridge it was built between 1993 and 1997 at a cost of $1 billion, providing jobs for 5,000 local workers.
The bridge is 12.9 km (8 miles) in length and at its highest point is 60 metres (192 feet) above the water.
The gentle curves in the bridge are a safety feature designed to keep drivers attentive since experts have concluded accidents happen more often on straight bridges or highways. The toll is charged when leaving the province.
The Fixed Link
This was the name applied to Confederation Bridge before it was built and had been given its official name. The Toronto Globe and Mail newspaper held a contest and invited readers to submit names.
Some of those included: The Bridge Over Troubled Lobsters, The Northumberland Cummerbund and The Lucy Maud Montmotorway.
With permission from 'Prince Edward Island Place Names' David E. Scott 2011
Prince Edward Island has already done its bit for the 18,078 km (11,233 mi.) Trans Canada Trail.
The plan is for Canada to have the world's longest recreational trail linking 800 communities.
Only 9,000 km are operational now, but the Island's Confederation Trail is up and running, all 270 kms of it from one tip of the island to the other with four branch lines to each of Charlottetown, the Confederation Bridge, Georgetown and Montague.
With permission from 'Prince Edward Island Place Names' David E. Scott 2011
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