The Corporation of Hamilton has asked contractors to submit bids to widen the ramp at Number Eight dock at the east end of Front Street.

The work will create a three-lane ramp to park containers and trucks that now line Front Street each day between Number Eight and the entrance to Number Seven Dock.

"It will mean that during daytime and nighttime there will be no container trucks along Front Street,'' Corporation secretary Mr. Roger Sherratt said.

"We hope to have it completed early in the new year.'' The plan stems from a 1992 report of an inquiry to improve the efficiency of the Hamilton docks.

The tender calls for the contractor to widen the Number Eight Shed ramp by eight feet. The widening will create enough room for three lanes, two for incoming trucks and one for them to exit.

"The general idea is to get the trucks off Front Street,'' Corporation engineer Mr. David Graham said.