Nova Scotia's provincial government is going to do a detailed study on the idea of adding a truck lane to the CN train corridor that runs through Halifax, Economic Development Minister Angus MacIsaac announced Thursday.

The goal is to reduce traffic congestion in the centre of the city, make the port more efficient and possibly add a bikeway and footpath to the 6.8-kilometre rail cut between the Halterm terminals and the Bedford Basin.

The province will also look at adding public transit to the corridor.

MacIsaac said the study will indicate the exact price tag on the project, though in earlier estimates the changes to the rail corridor have been estimated at about $80 million.

The port has struggled this year, as shipping lines have departed amid complaints over train service.

In July, the port announced cargo shipments had fallen 16 per cent compared to the previous year. Also, CN — the lone rail operator in the city — announced it planned to cut back daily service from two trains to a single train.

MacIsaac said he expects that a truck corridor could assist the port in becoming more attractive to shipping lines.

"This initiative, if it were to materialize, would, in our view, assist the port of Halifax in becoming more competitive than is currently the case," he said.

The project is part of a wide-ranging collection of transportation improvements being proposed to Ottawa as part of the Atlantic Gateway Initiative — ranging from harbour dredging in Sydney through to doubling highways along several major routes in Atlantic Canada.

Nova Scotia NDP Leader Darrell Dexter said the Halifax corridor project may be worthwhile, but he wondered if it would do much to solve the port's problem of declining traffic.

"A lot of people are going to ask themselves, 'What does this actually do to increase the amount of business that's going to come into the port?'" said Dexter.

"That's the question the study may address. But I didn't really see it as one of the considerations being outlined."

MacIsaac said he expects federal funding will be available through the Atlantic Gateway Initiative, and he adds the province will pay the cost of the study on its own.

However, MacIsaac said he couldn't explicitly announce the federal involvement because the new Conservative government has yet to be sworn in.

Bids to complete the study are due in mid November.

CN hasn't indicated yet whether it will grant title to the land, if the project proceeds.