The Englishtown cable ferry in central Cape Breton will be out of service this winter as new slips are constructed on both sides of the channel in St. Anns Bay.

The slips were built about 30 years ago and have deteriorated badly.

"They're worn out," said John Majchrowicz, manager of marine services for the Nova Scotia Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal. "The rebar is starting to come out, so it's time to overhaul those slips."

Majchrowicz said the ramps have been undermined by the tide and are so low in places that some vehicles have trouble getting on and off the ferry.

"Cars with a long overhang, and buses and trucks with long overhangs, they scrape the bottom of the ramp as they are coming out of the ship and sometimes they can come hung up on the cable and destroy the cable," he said.

Staff have been advising some drivers to turn around and drive around St. Anns Bay instead of taking the ferry, Majchrowicz said.

Repairs all around

The ferry Torquil MacLean will be pulled out of the water in the first week of January to undergo annual maintenance while construction crews work on both the Englishtown and Jersey Cove sides of the channel.

The cable will also be pulled out and replaced.

Tenders for the construction work have been issued. The successful bidder will be announced in about a week.

Majchrowicz expects the work to take about three months.