N.S. hopes to have decision about Highway 101 construction within months

Public Works Minister Kim Masland says the provincial government hopes to have a decision from Fisheries and Oceans Canada in several months that would allow for the eventual completion of the twinning project along Highway 101 near Windsor, N.S.

Masland told reporters following a cabinet meeting on Thursday that scientists are assembling the final modelling work related to fish passage and will send it to the federal government in the next month.

"I hope this will allow us to proceed," she said. "I need to get that 101 project finished."

The project in the Annapolis Valley is one of four major highway twinning projects announced by the former Liberal government.

All are on schedule except Highway 101, on account of a span of new road that will cross the Avon River. The design must include a replacement for the aboiteau in the Windsor causeway that allows for sufficient fish passage.

So far, the province's efforts have not met the requirements of Fisheries and Oceans Canada and it's resulted in delays in a project that was scheduled to be completed last year.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shuffled his cabinet. Among the changes was bringing in a new fisheries minister. Masland and Kings-Hants MP Kody Blois both said they are hoping that will notadd any further delays to the process.

Blois said he would be reaching out to the new minister, Diane Lebouthillier, once she gets settled in her new portfolio to discuss the file, but he expects the consistency of the civil servants involved should help keep things on track.

Blois said he's hoping the new design will satisfy federal requirements for fish passage while also reflecting local community wishes to maintain a consistent water level in Lake Pisiquid, a man-made lake that can fill and be drained based on how long the gates of the aboiteau remain open.

"That is the position that I take as a member of Parliament that is in the best interest of the community that I think reconciles the many interests at play," he said in an interview.

Masland said a tender for the construction work could be issued later this year, but declined to offer timelines because everything is tied to the decision by Ottawa.

In the meantime, Masland said she knows people have expressed safety concerns about the condition of the two-lane highway as it passes Windsor, but there is little more that can be done until the new road can be constructed.

"We have looked at that several times," she said. "It's very tricky I've driven it myself. That's why we need to get that project finished."

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