News Release Archive
TRANSPORTATION/COMMUNICATIONS--IMPROVED SAFETY AT CAUSEWAY
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A new system to sort trucks at the Canso Causeway scale
house will reduce the number of left turns and improve
safety, Transportation and Communications Minister Richie
Mann said today.
Weigh in motion scales in the road-bed have been linked to
the scale house at the causeway, and a new signal system
will indicate to drivers that they should proceed straight
through, or report to the scale.
"The weigh in motion scales determine whether trucks heading
to Cape Breton are overweight," said Mr. Mann. The weight
will be registered at the scale house, and, if the truck is
overweight, the driver will be given a signal requiring a
stop at the scale house. If the vehicle is within legal
limits, it will be permitted to pass without stopping.
Mann said, "The equipment is in place as part of a
federal-provincial project to collect information on numbers
and weights of vehicles. Using the equipment to reduce left
turning trucks entering and exiting the scale house has
addressed a safety concern expressed by many people," he
said.
He said that "the implementation of this system will improve
safety, use existing technology more effectively, and reduce
time delays to truckers."
Scale house staff will initially operate a manual signal if
a truck is required to stop. An automatic signal, linked to
the scale itself, will be installed within a few months.
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Contact: Public Affairs and Communications 902-424-8687
trp Dec. 19, 1995