Federal government announces $65M for Highway 103 twinning

The federal government has announced $65.6 million for the planned highway twinning on Nova Scotia's South Shore.

Federal Treasury Board Minister Scott Brison and provincial Transportation Minister Lloyd Hines were at a news conference Tuesday morning in Hubbards, announcing the money for the work on Highway 103 between Upper Tantallon and Hubbards.

The province is forgoing tolls in favour of investing $390 million over the next seven years on extra highway work, including $74.3 million on that section of the 103.

The work involves twinning 10.8 kilometres between Upper Tantallon and Ingramport, including new bridges over Mill Lake, Little Indian Lake, the Ingram River and over Highway 103 at Mill Lake.

Another 11.8 kilometres will be twinned between Ingramport and Hubbards, and a new interchange will be built at Hubbards. There will also be seven kilometres of new access roads.

Work starts next year

The work starts next spring and is scheduled to be completed in 2023.

Former Dartmouth municipal councillor Bruce Hetherington, whose son Jamie was killed in a head-on collision on Highway 103 in 2008, is happy that stretch of highway is being twinned.

His eyes filled with tears as he took to the podium to thank those involved for the decision.

"While you people were talking, and we're so pleased with what we're hearing, my wife cried," he told those assembled in the Hubbards Barn for the announcement.

Hetherington said making the highway safer is a cause his son and others have died for.

"It's to save other Nova Scotians, to save tourists, to save people, to save injuries and, on behalf of them, thank God that you people are here to help."

Between 2007 and 2014, there were seven fatalities on the stretch of Highway 103 between Tantallon and Hubbards according to statistics collected by the provincial Department of Transportation.

Brison hints at more funding

The Tantallon to Hubbards twinning was identified as a priority job by the province after it completed a study looking at which highways should be twinned and whether tolls should be applied.

The plan is to twin two other highway sections Highway 101 near Windsor and Highway 104 between Sutherlands River and Antigonish.

Brison hinted this funding announcement was perhaps only a start.

"This is an important announcement today and we are looking forward to working with the province to announce more investments in the future," he said.

Burnside Connector

Hines said the province wasn't ready to say when work might start on the other priority projects.

"The various projects that were identified through the consultation are at different stages of development," said Hines. "This one was furthest along, in terms of the various pieces and inputs to go into the project.

"This one was obviously the first one that we could move on. We're not really saying which particular order they're going to be in, but we do have a commitment to get to them all over the next number of years."

In addition to the highway twinning, the province has also promised to build a new four-lane highway called the Burnside Connector to link Highway 102 in Bedford to Highway 118 near the Burnside Business Park.