Transportation Research Paper
A Perspective on Future
Intermodal Freight Movements
Around Cornwall
Harry Valentine
[email protected]
613-933-5616
Cornwall, ON, Canada
February 14 2013
1|P a g e
Summary:
There are future prospects to increase the efficiency of intermodal truck/rail freight
transportation in Cornwall, to benefit the distribution centres. These prospects
include a possible spin-off by which to develop productive and efficient intermodal
truck/maritime freight transportation that may also offer future benefit to distribution
centres. Part 1 focuses on truck/rail intermodal transportation while Part 2 focuses on
maritime/truck intermodal transportation.
Part 1 – Rail/Truck Intermodal Movement
Preamble:
Cornwall’s industrial park has in recent years become home to several distribution
centers. The location of that industrial park between a main east-west highway and
main east-west railway line has been advantageous to the warehouse and distribution
sector. Cornwall’s location provides the distribution centres with easy and direct
access to their suppliers as well as to their customers.
While trucks pulling semi-trailers carry much merchandise to and from the distribution
centres, they also receive a portion of their deliveries by shipping containers. Many of
the shipping containers arrive by road (from Montreal) while a portion of them arrive
by rail at the CN Rail intermodal railway terminal located along Marleau Avenue in
Cornwall. Locally owned trucks pull flatbed semi-trailers to shuttle the containers
between the intermodal terminal and Cornwall’s industrial park.
CN Rail Intermodal Terminal:
The projected increase in intermodal traffic at the CN Rail terminal provides the
railway with the future option of relocating the intermodal terminal to the north side
of the main railway line. Except that their future plans in this regard are presently
unknown. When shipping containers on railcars or intermodal semi-trailers arrive at
Cornwall, local trucks shuttle the containers and/or intermodal semi-trailers from the
2|P a g e
CN terminal to the distribution centres. The trucks usually travel east along Marleau
Avenue, north along Boundary Road and then into the industrial park.
Efficiency of Local Trucks:
At present, local trucks pull a single trailer carrying one container into the distribution
centres. Provincial transportation law does impose dimension restrictions on trucks
that travel on the King’s Highways. On rural roads, farmers routinely carry loads of hay
bales on trailers with the bales stacked to excess height and to excess width. In a city
where roads offer generous vertical clearance and generation turning space at
intersections, municipal administrations may allow for the operation of excess height
and/or over-length vehicles in restricted areas, such as industrial areas.
Excess Height Buses:
Excess height buses have for many years carried tourists on sightseeing trips around
cities such as Ottawa, Vancouver, Halifax, Charlottetown and Toronto. The standard
height British double decker buses of an earlier period were built to a roof height of
4.5m (14’-5”) above road level, with the upper level floor set at an elevation of some
8’-4” (2.54m) above road level. These vehicles have regularly and safely carried a near
full load of passengers on the upper levels around numerous Canadian cities, for many
successive summer seasons.
Between during the mid-1970’s, a series of over-height double decker buses entered
service in Hong Kong (Kowloon Motor Bus fleet numbers G1, G2, G3 & G4) as well as
with City Tramways at Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, South Africa. These buses
combined double decker bus bodies built on the chassis of single decker buses, with a
roof height of 4.57m (180-inches) above road level. The upper level floor was set at
some 9-ft (2.75m) above road level. Hong Kong’s KMB added stabilizers to the bus
suspension systems and the vehicles provided many years of safe and reliable city
transit service despite the excess height.
3|P a g e
Local Truck Transportation:
The generous overhead height clearance along the eastern end of Marleau Avenue as
well as along Boundary Road and roads in the industrial park, provide potential to
increase the efficiency of the movement of freight within Cornwall using excess height
trucks that will operate in the area:

There may be potential to couple 2-intermodal semi-trailers into a
single road train that would travel along Marleau Avenue, Boundary
Road and along roadways inside of the industrial park. There is
available road space on the left turn maneuvers to accommodate
extended length truck and semi-trailer combinations

There may be potential to modify a low-bed, extendible length
(a.k.a. ‘trombone’ semi-trailer from the construction industry, to
carry double-stacked shipping containers. There is generous height
clearance along the eastern end of Marleau Avenue, Boundary Road
and roads in the industrial park to allow passage for double-stacked
containers while sufficient road space is available to allow the semitrailers to negotiate turn maneuvers on the main roadways.

There may be potential to couple 2-extendible-length, low-bed semitrailers to carry a pair of double-stacked containers (total of 4containers) between CN Rail’s intermodal terminal and the industrial
park. This option would require further research.
Excess Height Railway Cars:
While several roads on the eastern side of Cornwall are essentially free from overhead
obstacles, the railways have long operated excess height when transporting freight
around Canada, including through Cornwall. The roof of the 3-level auto-carrier
railcars measures 19’ 10” (6-m) above the head of the rail, with the inner edge of the
rails spaced at 4’-8’5” (56.5”), with an effective wheel track at 60”. On the road, a
truck built to a width of 96” (2.5m) operates with an effective wheel track spacing of
near 72” (1.8m).
4|P a g e
The precedent of excess height freight transportation on the rails and in city transit
buses provides a basis by which to develop excess height freight transportation within
Cornwall, moving containers between the CN Rail intermodal terminal and
distribution centers located inside Cornwall’s industrial park. Excess height freight cars
have safely traveled along the railway lines over a period of many years, at speeds
approaching 100km/hr along straight and curved track as well as negotiating sets of
points between railway lines at speeds of 40km/hr.
An integrated-constructed tanker semi-trailer with 1-metre ground clearance at midwheelbase and carrying a full load of liquid, may set the center of gravity at 7-ft (2.1m)
above road level. These trailers regularly travel along the 400-series Kings’ Highways
in Ontario. A low-bed semi-trailer carrying double-stacked containers of consumer
merchandise would travel with a center of gravity at 9-ft (2.75m) above road level.
There are 3-known construction companies in the Cornwall area (Grant, Malyon and
MacDonald) that own low-bed semi-trailers.
Truck Height Demonstration at Cornwall:
It is possible to demonstrate that a low-bed semi-trailer can carry double-stacked
container along a designated route in Cornwall. The demonstration may involve 2 x
empty containers being loaded double-stacked on to the deck of an extendible-length,
low-bed semi-trailer. When loaded, the semi-trailer center of gravity would rise to a
height of 6-ft (1.83m) above road level, allowing the driver to drive the combination as
if the semi-trailer were a tank loaded with liquid. The height of the traffic signal lights
at Marleau Avenue and Boundary Road would need to be raised to higher elevation or
moved slightly to the side, to allow passage for excess height vehicles.
Truck Development for Cornwall:
There may be scope in Cornwall to modify an extendible, low-bed semi-trailer and a
truck/tractor at the 5th wheel coupling to increase roll stability when negotiating turns
when carrying fully loaded, double-stacked containers. When in the straight-ahead
position, the hinged coupling transfers full roll stability between the tractor rear axles
5|P a g e
and the front of the semi-trailer. However, when the tractor and the hinge at the 5th
wheel are turned at a 90-degree angle to the semi-trailer, the front of the semi-trailer
would have minimal roll stability.
It may be possible to modify the 5th wheel coupling to transfer full roll stability from
the tractor to the semi-trailer, over a wide range of articulation angles. There are
many technically oriented people and organizations in the domestic industry able to
design, build and install such a modification to the 5th wheel assembly. One approach
might involve connecting a restraining cable linked between the tractor chassis and a
high point of semi-trailer, above the 5th wheel to cause a slight ‘motorcycle’ effect at
the front of the semi-trailer as the tractor enters a turn.
Alternatively, a semi-circular section of ‘rail’ may be installed around the 5th wheel
coupling on the underside of the semi-trailer. A matching set of matching steel wheels
installed on the frame of the tractor-truck would engage a curved section of rail as the
tractor enters a turn, increasing the articulation angle between tractor and semitrailer. The steel wheels would exert a lifting force on the outer side of the semitrailer, causing the front end of the semi-trailer to lean into the turn.
Local Road Train:
A second experiment may involve a pair of flatbed semi-trailers coupled into a road
train, to shuttle pairs of shipping containers between the intermodal terminal and the
industrial park. There will be no need for additional modifications to conventional
flatbed semi-trailers that will each carry a single container. The present state of
truck/trailer technology would allow for a pair of low-bed semi-trailers to be coupled
into a train, using either A-train or B-train coupling technology.
An extended length low-bed B-train may carry 2-sets of double-stacked containers (4containers) between the CN intermodal terminal and Cornwall’s industrial park, to
improve transportation efficiency. The modified low-bed B-train may include special
stabilizers built into the articulation couplings to assure stability through turn
maneuvers. The 2nd articulation joint may activate a steering mechanism built under
6|P a g e
the B-train coupling, reducing the amount of road space required to negotiate a 90degree turn maneuver.
Driver Training:
There are several professional driver training schools located in and around Cornwall
that may be able to train drivers in the safe operation of excess height trucks along
the city’s roadways. The combination of drivers who are trained in the safe operation
of excess height trucks along with stability modifications made to the 5th wheel
couplings should assure safe and economical operation of such trucks around the
Cornwall area.
Implications:
The truck experiment would allow fewer trucks to move the same number of shipping
containers while burning less fuel, producing fewer emissions and occupying less
space on Cornwall’s roads (during rush hour), thereby reducing traffic congestion. The
operation of such trucks would reduce the cost of transferring containers between the
intermodal terminal and the distribution centres. There may be a need to revise the
location and/or height of traffic signals along Boundary Road to assure clearance for
over-high vehicles.
While local and area truck repair and truck equipment companies could produce the
needed modifications to enable a low-bed semi-trailer to carry double-stacked
containers over short distances, Transport Canada’s Transportation Development
Centre may be interested in participating in such development. The operation of
extended-length truck and semi-trailer combinations that carry single-stacked
containers would require no special modifications.
A local industry could install stability modifications on low-bed semi-trailers and
companion tractors, to carry double-stacked containers with greater safety. The
technology may find application in business and industrial areas at other locations
across Canada and even in the USA. It may be possible for a local Cornwall company to
become the provider of some specialized truck technology, for a wider market.
7|P a g e
Part 2 – Maritime/Truck Intermodal Movement
Changes are occurring in the world of international maritime transportation that
involves bigger ships carrying greater numbers of shipping containers. The navigation
draft of these super ships at full load prevents them from sailing along the Lower St
Lawrence River, to/from the Port of Montreal. Due to lower transportation cost per
container, these super ships are replacing an earlier generation of smaller container
ships that sailed to the Port of Montreal. These changes will impact on distribution
centres located at Cornwall, by changing the way that containers will arrive at their
destinations.
A deep-sea port is under construction at the Strait of Canso, the deep oceanic channel
located between Cape Breton Island and Nova Scotia. That port is being built to
transfer containers between oceanic super-ships and the combination of inland
Seaway-max ships and CN Rail container trains. Except that a Seaway-max ship can
carry 6 to 8-times the number of shipping containers as a CN Rail train carrying double
stacked containers. Arriving at the Port of Montreal, the maritime option promises to
reduce transportation cost by some $500 per container over the railway competitor.
Transportation Cost:
In 2005, the Sea-Point Group of New Orleans compared the cost of containers arriving
at the Port of Memphis. A ship from Asia may sail through the Panama Canal and
connect with the Mississippi river barges at the Port of New Orleans that can provide
access to the Port of Memphis. Compared to transferring containers to several trains
at the Port of Long Beach CA and moving them be rail to Memphis, the maritime
mode incurred a cost savings of $1,100 to $1,200 per container over the railways. The
Mississippi precedent serves as a basis by which to introduce barge-train
transportation services along the Seaway, into Lake Ontario.
8|P a g e
Seaway Productivity:
Several transportation researchers have recently explored methods by which to raise
ship transportation productivity along the Seaway, upstream of Montreal. One of the
methods involves pushing a converted ship with a tug, the engine and fuel tanks
having been removed from the ship to convert it into a barge with increased payload
capacity. An alternate method involves the possible use of barge trains and also of
extended length hinged or coupled ships that a push-tug would propel and navigate.
Should the economics of operating extended length ships along the Seaway prove
attractive, Transport Canada and the US DOT has the option to extend the length of
the navigation locks while maintaining the existing draft and beam. The future
possibility of extended length navigation locks between Montreal and Lake Ontario
could offer benefit to Cornwall’s distribution centres. Barge trains could sail along the
Seaway at a future time, with a barge being uncoupled at a port at or near Cornwall
and offering savings in transportation cost per container.
Barges on the Seaway:
The transfer of containers at the Strait of Canso also allows for the introduction of
barges and barge trains that may also carry containers to multiple ports along the St
Lawrence Seaway. The use of automated navigation technology is currently under
development can allow a Seaway-max ship to tow a train of (shallow-draft) coupled
barges across the Gulf of St Lawrence and along the Lower St Lawrence River. Barges
destined for certain ports along that river may be uncoupled from the barge train,
while en route to Montreal.
During the months that precede the Christmas rush in department stores, a barge that
forms part of the towed barge train (a “barge tow”) may carry containers destined for
Cornwall. A barge built for the Mackenzie River measures 450-ft in length by 50-ft
width and is designed to carry 60-containers on a single level with 120-containers in
double-stacked mode. The Mississippi barges are built to a length of 200-ft by 35-ft
length and can carry 16-containers per level, with 32-containers on 2-levels.
9|P a g e
Upon arrival at Montreal, a tug may push a single Mackenzie-size of barge to Cornwall,
or a coupled train of Mississippi-size barges with one or two of these barges being
uncoupled at or near Cornwall. The maritime option could save Cornwall’s distribution
centres some $500-per container in transportation costs over a railway journey
between the super-port at the Strait of Canso and Cornwall.
Barge Port serving Cornwall:
The prospect of barges carrying containers along the St Lawrence River could allow for
maritime deliver of containers destined for Cornwall’s distribution centres, at a
location at or near Cornwall. Authorities who will need to approve the location of a
future barge port will include Transport Canada, the St Lawrence Seaway and the
Mohawk Council of Akwesasne. The choice of location for a barge port include:

The docks/marine/wharf at the Port of Cornwall, located on the
city’s waterfront at the south end of Marlborough and McConnell
Avenues

A dock may be built to the south of County Road 2, on the shore of
Lake St Lawrence where access to a railway line would be possible

A dock may be built near the confluence of Sutherland Creek and
Lake St Francis, near the Husky truck stop located south of the
interchange of Hwy 401 and SD&G County Road 23

Build a dock alongside the B&B storage warehouse along County
Road 2, located to at the southwest corner of South Glengarry.
Cornwall Wharf
Officials at the St Lawrence Seaway and at the City of Cornwall will need to decide as
to whether they would want a barge loaded with containers to arrive at the docks at
the Port of Cornwall. The barge may either be a Mississippi-size of barge (up to 32containers) or a Mackenzie-size of barge (up to 120-containers). Cornwall city
transportation department and Cornwall Electric would need to provide for vertical
clearance along several city streets to allow passage to excess-height trucks along
roads that connect between the docks and industrial park.
10 | P a g e
A relatively small fleet of trucks that are scheduled in real time by computer, including
signaling in the drivers’ cabs, would circulate between the docks and the industrial
park. Real-time computer scheduling that includes GPS would space truck arrivals at
and departures from the dock area, reducing the number of trucks that are
simultaneously at the dock. Such scheduling would also reduce truck gridlock along
the roadways that link the docks and the industrial park, even sending consecutive
trucks via different routes so as to minimize truck traffic on any one roadway.
Citizens who live along Marlborough Avenue, McConnell Avenue and Montreal Road
will need to advise Cornwall city council as to whether they could live with ‘supertrucks’ frequently passing by their front doors carrying double-stacked containers.
There may be need for a town-hall meeting on barges carrying containers to the
Cornwall docks, with large trucks traveling along city streets.
Lake St Lawrence Barge Port
While it would be technically possible to build a barge port along the north shore of
Lake St Lawrence at the southwestern corner of Cornwall, its construction would
depend on permission from Ontario Power Generation, Power Authority of New York
and the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne. The proposed extension of Tollgate Road East
would provide access for trucks between the port location and the distribution
centres in Cornwall’s industrial park.
Moving containers by rail from that location would require access along the hightraffic CN Rail main line at considerable expense. Shunting railway cars at the
proposed port would require an extensive length of railway track that would involve
considerable additional expense. A barge port with railway access at that location
would only be suitable for handling very short trains carrying small numbers of very
heavy loads.
11 | P a g e
Sutherland Creek Barge Port
It may be possible to build a barge port near the Husky truck stop in South Glengarry
at the mouth of Sutherland. The close proximity to a truck stop would be
advantageous, as it would provide a waiting area for trucks and drivers. Small groups
of trucks may circulate in sequence through the port and alongside the barge, to pick
up a container (or 2-containers using double full-sized flatbed semi-trailers) destined
for Cornwall.
A barge port at that location would require a relatively large fleet of trucks to shuttle
containers to Cornwall. Plans to develop a barge port at the mouth of Sutherland
Creek would likely elicit opposition from the conservation authority that would want
to include wildlife habitat at the port. Except that wildlife (and a possible nature
reserve) would be incompatible with trucks that also frequent the same port area.
Astro B&B Warehouse Site
Astro Warehousing Company presently owns the B&B storage building located along
County Road 2 and the St Lawrence River, just east of Cornwall city limits and
immediately downstream of the outlet pipe of Cornwall’s sewage treatment plant.
The close proximity of that outlet pipe to the warehouse site provides a basis by which
to counter challenge over-zealous environmentalists who may wish to oppose
possible development of shallow-draft barge terminal along the shore of the storage
building.
The Astro property is located close to the intersection of County Road 2 and Boundary
Road, with both roads offering generous overhead clearance between the warehouse
property and the industrial park. It may be possible for a sequence of trucks pulling
double low-bed semi-trailers to carry 2-pairs of double-stacked containers (4containers) over the relatively short distance between the proposed barge port and
12 | P a g e
the industrial park. This location keeps large trucks away from heavily populated areas
within Cornwall, while offering the shortest distance by road between a possible river
port and the industrial park.
It is the opinion of this author (and researcher) that the Astro B&B site would be the
optimal location for a future shallow-draft barge port near Cornwall. Real-time
computer scheduling of a relatively small fleet of “super-trucks” that include cab
signaling that includes GPS guidance would reduce truck congestion at the future
barge port, while the small fleet would circulate between the port and the industrial
area. Trucks awaiting the signal to enter the port area may park for a few minutes
each on the shoulder of Boundary Road, between Marleau Ave and 2nd Street East, as
well as wait at designated locations in the south side of the business/industrial area.
* It should be noted that the owners and staff of Astro Storage remained neutral and
uninvolved in research pertaining to a barge port at or near Cornwall*
Port Environmental Challenge
Based on the past events, staff at the conservation authority may be expected to
challenge any proposal to build a barge port next to the site of the B&B storage
building, purportedly to protect wildlife habitat and to prevent the release of
chemicals from sediment in the riverbed into the river. There is a basis by which to
refute such allegations. As well, the Federal Government of Canada has recently
revised the Navigable Waterways Act to benefit inland waterway transportation.
The outlet pipe of Cornwall’s sewage treatment plant is located within a ship’s length
of the Astro and B&B property. Water flowing from that pipe contains a concentration
of hydro-fluorosilicic acid of 0.49ppm to 1.05ppm (parts per million) while the
environmental limit for wildlife is set at 0.12ppm. Hydro-fluorosilicic acid has never
13 | P a g e
undergone any known approved toxicology tests in Canada. Ontario’s safe water
drinking act requires that only chemicals that have undergone and passed toxicology
tests, be added to municipal drinking water.
The sewage treatment plant is designed to neutralize fecal bacteria, not medical and
pharmaceutical grade chemicals that enter the sewage water. People’s bodies may
retain only a percentage of the medication and supplements that they ingest. A
portion of the medication may pass through their bodies and into the toilet bowls,
then though the sewage treatment plant and into the river. The medications include
birth control pills, hormone supplements, estrogen supplements and many other
medical-grade pharmaceutical chemicals that end up in the river.
The concentration of these chemicals and medication byproducts would be highest
immediately at and downstream of the sewage treatment outlet pipe, including along
the coastline of the Astro/B&B site. During periods of excess heavy rainfall, an
overflow of untreated water from storm sewers may flow directly into the river. The
chemical cocktail from the sewer pipe outlet would come into contact with aquatic
wildlife, waterfowl and other small land wildlife may frequent the area located close
to the municipal sewage treatment plant’s outlet pipe.
These species would live, feed or bathe in the river water near the sewage outlet pipe
and would likely have been affected the chemicals in the water. Some of these
medical-chemicals (birth control) have the potential to affect fertility and reduce
and/or eliminate much of the wildlife population living around the site of the Astro
B&B storage building. The effect of these chemicals undermines the environmental
case to protect wildlife habitat around the Astro/B&B site. A portion of Cornwall’s
(and South Glengarry’s) economic future may stand to benefit from the presence of
an easily accessible barge port located at the border of both municipalities.
Based on past events, the conservation authority may be expected to oppose the
development of a possible barge port on environmental grounds. Around the year
2000 and in regard to the planned development of a business park near Bainsville in
14 | P a g e
South Glengarry, cabinet ministers from the then Harris government visited the site of
the proposed business park and reprimanded 2-staff members of the conservation
authority for having undermined private economic development efforts in the region.
There is no need to include a nature reserve into either a business park or a barge
port.
Low-Impact Port Construction:
There would be a need to secure a barge laden with shipping containers, to a stable
and secure dock in order to transfer containers between barge and trucks. While a
floating dock may service the needs of a small recreational boat, a barge carrying a
load of containers will require a more secure and stable structure than a floating dock.
There are long-proven precedents in bridge pier construction that would form the
basis by which to build a dock alongside the B&B property.
The use of caissons in bridge pier construction involves lowering a physical barrier to
the river floor, then pushing it into the sediment. It is a long-proven process that
disturbs minimal riverbed sediment, with a minimal of chemicals being transferred
into the river water. The sewage treatment plant’s outlet pipe would more than likely
release a greater amount of pharmaceutical-chemical products into the river over the
duration of the port/dock construction period.
South Glengarry Township and the conservation authority have jurisdiction along the
township coastline and up to the waters’ edge of the St Lawrence River. The river floor
is under federal/provincial and Mohawk Council jurisdiction. It may be possible to use
the caisson method to build an extended pier within a few metres of the river’s edge
and parallel to the coastline, then install ramps to the coastal land on the other side to
form a bridge.
Sediment Erosion:
The coastal area to the west and south of the B&B site is a boating passage that links
to the Gray’s Creek marina that is located across County Road 2. For many years,
15 | P a g e
propeller-driven boats have sailed along that shore and generated a propeller
backwash. Propellers from more powerful boats could produce a sufficiently powerful
backwash that would disturb sediment from the riverbed and transfer it into the river.
Many seasons of backwash from boat propellers would more than likely have
disturbed the chemical-contaminated sediment near the riverbank, along with an
annual springtime current of melting snow emanating from Grays Creek.
Once the caisson is securely in place, it would be possible to remove sediment from
the riverbed inside the caisson and deepen it. The contaminated soil may be moved
offsite by truck, in a similar manner as done at brown-field areas. Methods such as the
ultra-high-temperature plasma method can neutralize industrial chemicals that
entered the riverbed sediment during an earlier time period. The amount of industrial
chemicals that construction would transfer from river sediment into the river water
may be far less than the amount of pharmaceutical-medical grade chemicals that flow
from the outlet of the municipal sewage treatment plant and into the river.
A barge port would require a firm and secure dock capable of supporting massive
amounts of weight and securing a heavy barge. A floating dock would neither offer
the stability nor the weight carrying capacity of a fixed structure. A firmly secured and
stable dock at a future barge port has the potential to assist future business activity
and future economic development in both the City of Cornwall as well as the
Township of South Glengarry. On this basis, the construction of a secure dock would
be worth the possible minimal environmental risk associated with caisson-based dock
construction.
16 | P a g e
Barge Port Viability:
The projected long-term viability of a barge port at or near Cornwall would be the
major determining factor as to whether developers ought to proceed with such a
facility. Future developments along the St Lawrence Seaway would also determine the
future viability of operating barge trains between the deep seaport at the southeast
corner of the Gulf of St Lawrence and Lake Ontario.
The possible future introduction of extended length navigation locks would greatly
enhance the future viability of container-on-barge (COB) operation along the Seaway.
Should COB operation prove successful, the number of containers arriving at Cornwall
per year could exceed the number of containers that arrive at the Port of Ogdensburg
NY or at the Port of Oswego NY over the same time period. Canadian barge ports
along the Seaway may include Mississauga, Kingston, Belleville and Cornwall.
Traffic gridlock on roads near the Port of Toronto would enhance the attractiveness of
operating a barge port at the docks at Mississauga, as it would divert much intermodal
truck traffic away from the downtown area of Toronto. Container-on-barge (COB)
operation has already proven viable (and cost competitive per container, against rail)
along the Mississippi River, between the Port of New Orleans and the Port of
Memphis. A future barge train headed for Mississauga could include one or two
barges (per day) destined for Cornwall.
Privately Funded Barge Port:
Federal and provincial governments are seeking ways by which to reduce spending. As
a result, there may be need for private investors to fund the development of a barge
port near Cornwall, at the southwestern corner of the Township of South Glengarry.
The port will need to be able to process enough traffic to be viable, while the capital
cost and operating cost will need to be kept low.
There may be need for federal and provincial governments to exclude the
conservation authority from any involvement in the construction and operation of a
17 | P a g e
barge port over the long term, to assure low operating costs. Recent changes in
Canada’s Navigable Waterways Act may provide the means by which to achieve such a
result, that is, conservation staff neither regulate nor supervise port operations. The
development and future of the port would depend on investors being able to earn a
worthwhile return on their investment.
Conclusions:

Changes are underway in international maritime transportation that
enhances the viability of the maritime mode. These changes will
directly and indirectly affect the economics of the operation of
distribution centres at Cornwall.

Precedents abound that would assure the development of excess
height truck/trailer combinations to shuttle shipping containers from
CN Rail and/or a barge port, to/from Cornwall’s industrial park.

There is generous overhead clearance along roadways that connect
CN Rail’s intermodal terminal and a future barge port located near
the south end of Boundary Road to the industrial park. The overhead
infrastructure requires minimal modification to provide passage for
excess height trucks carrying double-stacked containers.

Container-on-barge operation has proven to be cost competitive
against long-distance truck and railway transportation, along the
Mississippi River. That precedent serves as a basis by which to
develop future container-on-barge operation along the Seaway.

There is scope to develop a future barge port at or near Cornwall, to
benefit the distribution centres in Cornwall’s industrial park. During
the peak retail season, container-on-barge operation could save the
distribution centres some $500 per container arriving at Cornwall

A barge arriving at a port at or near Cornwall at some future time
may be part of an extended length barge train sailing to a
destination around Lake Ontario. A barge laden with containers
18 | P a g e
would be uncoupled and towed or pushed into port using a local
towboat.

The number of containers that may arrive in the future by barge at
Cornwall could exceed the number of containers that arrive at the
New York Seaway ports of Ogdensburg and Oswego.

Recent revisions to the Navigable Waterways Act may go far in
countering opposition to developing a barge port at or near
Cornwall.
Harry Valentine has an extensive background in transportation research, having
published in excess of 100-research papers and articles internationally over a period
of some 25-years. He holds a degree in engineering from Carleton University (Ottawa)
where he undertook post-graduate studies and research into intercity transportation.
He may be reached at [email protected] or at 1-613-933-5616 (Cornwall ON).
Cornwall Area Recipients:
19 | P a g e

Astro Warehousing, Cornwall ON

CAO – Township of South Glengarry

CAO – City of Cornwall

MP Guy Lauzon

MPP Jim McDonell

Cornwall Chamber of Commerce, Leslie Strasser and Amy Malyon

Ms Terry Besner, SD&G Economic Development

Mr. Bob Peters, City of Cornwall Economic Development

Mr. Francois Desormeaux, SD&G Community Futures Corp

Mr. Andrew Bogora, Communications - St Lawrence Seaway
-
Mrs. Linda Lalonde, Logistics Instructor, St Lawrence College