HALIFAX: The provincial government said extra money and time replacing the rotary in Port Hastings is well spent.
Work to convert the Port Hastings rotary to a roundabout will continue this year, with paving projects in and around the project scheduled to take place until 2028, the province said.
“The Port Hastings roundabout has been a concern now for many years; it’s been a safety concern for many who live in the area and travel. We need to make sure that we’re getting that project right. There have been some changes to the design, there was community input,” Public Works Minister Kim Masland told The Reporter. “It looks different than what it did in the beginning but there’s reasons for it looking different and that is because we want to make sure that we are delivering what needs to be delivered…”
During a community information session on Dec. 5 at the Port Hastings Fire Hall, representatives with the province’s Department of Public Works confirmed that a total redesign of the rotary-turned-roundabout project now includes an overpass to Highway 105, multiple traffic lights, and a bypass lane coming from Port Hawkesbury.
The province indicated the project now has a price tag around $15 million. Planning and preliminary design work is currently underway, while construction is expected to resume in the spring of 2023 with the completion of the project anticipated by the fall of 2024, the province noted.
The province released its Five-Year Highway Improvement Plan on Jan. 6 which set aside approximately $450 million for roadwork and major projects in 2023-2024 and another $583 million for six new major construction projects.
“Today we are announcing one of the biggest investments ever made in our province’s history for highway improvement,” Masland told a Jan. 6 media briefing. “Between now and 2030, we will invest more than $2 billion to connect our communities and make our roads safer.”
The province said this includes twinning Highway 104 from Taylors Road to Paqtnkek Mi’kmaw Nation starting in 2024-2025.
The province said sections of the Highway 104 twinning project to Antigonish are complete, and they plan to finish the remaining 38 kilometres by 2024.
Among the projects planned for 2023-2024 are major construction projects such as the intersection realignment at Highway 104 and Route 344 in Auld’s Cove.
Also in Antigonish County are major road upgrades along the Active Transportation Corridor on Trunk 4.
Construction/improvement projects for 2023-2024 include slope repair on Fishermans Harbour Road in Guysborough County.
Asphalt projects earmarked for 2023-2024 are: on the Inverness County line on Highway 104; Route 19 at Mabou Ridge; Route 316 from New Harbour Bridge to Tor Bay Branch Road; from Ohio West Side Road to Trunk 7; White Head Road; from the Cabot Trail Northerly to Ross Road; from Nature Dream Boulevard Oldys Road; Havre Boucher Road; from Nelson Bridge to Crowdis Cross Road; and from the St. Peter’s Forchu Road to Larcheveque Road.
Among gravel road projects for 2023–24 are: the Caledonia Marydale Road; the Heatherton Guysborough Road; Keppoch Road; New France Road; St. Josephs Road; West Side Road; West Side Lochiel Lake Road; West Side Road; Cenotaph Road; Dunmore Road; from North Highlands Road Northerly to Broad Cove Banks Road; Little Mabou Road; Long Stretch Road; Maryville Station Road; Militia Point Road; from Mabou Harbour Road to Route 19; Hay Cove; from North Side Loch Lomond Road to the Richmond County Line; and Oban Road.
Bridge replacement/rehabilitation projects for 2023-2024 include the West River Bridge, the Pirate Harbour Bridge, the St. Peter’s overpass on Highway 104, and the Cloverville Bridge. Other bridge projects are Frasers Brook Bridge, Moriarty Bridge, and Salt Springs Brook Bridge.
Asphalt projects for 2024-2025 include Exit 38 on Highway 104 and from the Antigonish/Guysborough County Line to West Side Lochiel Lake Road.
The bridge replacement/rehabilitation projects for 2024-2025 encompasses the James River Truss Bridge and the Pirate Harbour Bridge on Route 344.
Construction/improvement projects for 2025-2026 take in the roundabout at Trunk 4 and Trunk 16 in Antigonish.
Under asphalt projects for 2025-2026 is at Exit 6 on Highway 105 and Route 219 in Inverness County.
Bridge replacement/rehabilitation projects planned for 2025-2026 include the Upper Big Tracadie culvert.
Asphalt projects for 2026-2027 include the Port Hastings roundabout, and from Duggan Mountain Road to Chimney Corner Beach Road.
The Melford Brook Bridge on Route 344 is on the list for bridge replacement/rehabilitation projects for 2026-2027.
Asphalt projects for 2027-2028 include north of the Port Hastings roundabout on Highway 105 and in Guysborough County from Old Monastery Road to the Lincolnville Loop.
Bridge replacement/rehabilitation projects expected to take place in 2027-2028 include the Silvers Falls (Forks Glenelg) Truss Bridge on Route 348 in Guysborough County and the Summerside Culvert in Antigonish County.