Twinning of Highway 101 Moving Ahead

Construction work and environmental assessments needed to complete the twinning of Highway 101 to Avonport are moving ahead on schedule.

"Highway 101 is the transportation lifeline of the Annapolis Valley, and its twinning is one of government's top priorities," said Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal Minister Murray Scott. "Motorists can rest assured that this highway will continue to get its funding in the years to come."

The province has made substantial progress to twin Highway 101 since signing a federal-provincial highway cost-sharing agreement in October 2005. Work is currently underway from Falmouth to Avonport, and from St. Croix to Three Mile Plains. The Kings County section should be completed in fall 2008, with the balance scheduled to open by the fall of 2009. The two sections will cost about $56 million to complete.

An environmental screening assessment is underway on the section of Highway 101 between Three Mile Plains to Falmouth, including the Windsor causeway. The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal expects to have results from the assessment in the spring of 2008. The estimated cost to complete this section of Highway 101 ranges from $30 million to $40 million.

On other sections of Highway 101:

• Initial planning and surveying is underway for the 26-kilometre section from Avonport to Coldbrook. This section is estimated to cost about $63 million.
• Planning is underway to construct passing lanes from Berwick to Kingston within the next three years. The estimated cost is $12 million.
• The Brooklyn Road overpass in Yarmouth County was recently completed, and work continues on the Joggin Bridge and the Hectanooga Road interchanges in Digby County. Estimated cost of these projects is $17 million.