Let’s head back to April 1969 when a big milestone for port development in Delta was celebrated at Roberts Bank.
The three-mile causeway to the future superport on a man-made island officially opened.
In a field opposite the causeway, surveyors were working on the railway lineage.
Construction of the approximately 20 miles of railroad track was expected to be completed by that September.
Coal trains that were to have as many as 13 engines pulling 100-to-150 cars were to carry up to 15,000 tonnes at a time through Delta.
Meanwhile, Delta farmers and landowners whose land were expropriated by B.C Hydro were waiting for an arbitration hearing to reopen in New Westminster.
About 2,000 acres were expropriated in March 1968 and another 2,000 acres were expropriated in early 1969. The average price offered to landowners was $2,000 an acre.
The grand opening of the superport was celebrated in 1970.
Five decades later, Westshore Terminals, now controlled by the Jim Pattison Group, continues to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and remains the largest dry bulk terminal on the west coast of the Americas.
In 1980, senior governments signed a $50 million pact to expand the coal port.
Westshore a few years ago also undertook a $275 million facility upgrade within the existing footprint.
The facility now ships steel making (metallurgical) and energy (thermal) coal to countries worldwide.
