Five-year Highway Improvement Plan Launched

A new highway improvement plan will help develop a strong and modern highway system across Nova Scotia. Communities will also be able to track provincial road construction from now on through regular reports on progress.

Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal Bill Estabrooks released the plan today, Nov. 29.

"Our five-year plan for the construction, maintenance and improvement of roads and bridges across the province will help ensure a safe and efficient highway system for Nova Scotia," said Mr. Estabrooks. "The plan serves as a long-term blueprint for building and maintaining a highway system that connects communities and boosts our economy."

Building and maintaining roads and infrastructure creates thousands of jobs, allows local businesses to transport goods to market, connects Nova Scotians to vital services, employment and education, and leads visitors to every corner of the province.

The plan also increases transparency around road building in Nova Scotia. Each year following approval of the Highway Capital Budget a full list of projects to be completed during the construction season will be released, along with a list of multi-year projects planned for the years ahead.

The plan also includes the criteria to be used in setting road and bridge project priorities.

"We'll be reporting back to Nova Scotians on projects completed the previous year," said Mr. Estabrooks. "This longer-term planning and reporting will help us make the most of available federal dollars and work more effectively with communities and road builders. It will also allow tenders to be called earlier than ever before, which will result in better prices and better quality."

The five-year plan supports the goals of government's jobsHere economic development plan by creating jobs and improving the highway infrastructure relied on by Nova Scotian businesses and industries.

A list of projects is available at www.gov.ns.ca/tran. The list will be updated and projects will be added as they are finalized and approved each year.