News release

Province will Pay Less with Portable Asphalt Plant

Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal (Oct. 2007 - Feb. 2021)

Nova Scotia will continue to pay less and pave more by acquiring a new asphalt plant.

Bill Estabrooks, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal, announced today, Dec. 12, the province has awarded General Combustion Corporation of Orlando, Fla., a $3,569,638 tender to buy a portable plant.

"In some areas of Nova Scotia, limited or uncompetitive bidding has led to higher prices for asphalt," said Mr. Estabrooks. "By operating our own mobile asphalt plant, we anticipate tender prices will go down just as they did with chip seal when the province started chip sealing last summer."

The asphalt plant will be operational in 2012, with estimated savings of up to $2.5 million per year. Provincial crews will only provide a small percentage of the overall capital program. Most work will continue to be tendered to the private sector.

By doing some chip sealing in-house this summer, the province saved $2.3 million that was reinvested to make Nova Scotia's highways and roads safer.

The 2012-13 highway capital budget is $281 million, an increase of $16 million from last year. The province has invested more than $1 billion in highway infrastructure since 2009,the largest investment in Nova Scotia's road system.

For more information on the province's Five Year Highway Improvement Plan, visit www.gov.ns.ca/tran .