Part of dangerous Antigonish intersection closed indefinitely

Part of a dangerous intersection in Antigonish, N.S., has been closed until work can be done to make the area safer.

The Municipality of the County of Antigonishhas been calling on the province to make immediate changesto the area where Highway 4 and Beech Hill Road meet.

An emergency meeting was held on Dec. 9 to discuss the matter after a man from Toronto was killed in December in a three-vehicle crash involving a logging truck at the intersection.

Three people were injuredin another crash at thesame intersection the day before the meeting.

"The number of incidents and the frequency was starting to concern us as it was heading into the winter season again," said Owen McCarron, warden for the municipality. "We just felt something had to be done.

"The opportunity for a major accident was always in the back of our minds."

McCarron said the local fire department reported to the municipality that 22 per cent of their total calls in the last 2 years involved the intersection.

Marla MacInnis, spokesperson for the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal, said a decision was made to close Trunk 4 from South River Road to Beech Hill Road until permanent upgrades have been made.

MacInnis said a roundabout will be constructed.

"Our Highway Improvement Plan has construction of the roundabout scheduled for the 2021/22 construction season," she said.

"However, we have begun design and planning work for the intersection in hopes there is an opportunity to begin construction in the 2020/2021 construction season."

A detour is available through South River Road and Beech Hill Road, which McCarron said takes about 1.5 km more than it normally would.

The intersection itself has gone from four-way traffic to a three-way stop.

"You could still have a fender-bender there, but it wouldn't be a high-speed collision that someone doing 80 kilometres an hour and someone getting T-boned," McCarron said. "So that at least has remedied that part."

McCarron said people involved in some of the accidents, first responders and the general public were invited to speak at the meeting in December.

"People told us that evening they avoided that intersection and that section of highway almost all the time," he said, adding that a man involved in the fatal accident spoke as well.

"He said there was just a loud noise and all of a sudden everything went completely silent. And he said he thought for a second, 'Am I dead?'," McCarron said.

"It was a bit of an eye-opener."

McCarron said there are some businesses that may be impacted by the detour, but that safety hasto be the top priority.

The area is expected to remain closed until the roundabout is completed.

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