News release

Hundreds of Kilometres Paved During 2008 Construction Season

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

Nova Scotians benefitted from of about 475 kilometres of newly paved roads during the 2008 construction season.

The paving was part of $374.7 million invested in the fiscal year 2008-09 for paving and road construction, building and repairing bridges, and filling potholes. The total represents a 15 per cent increase over last year.

Nova Scotia recently ranked second in Canada for having the best transportation infrastructure in the country, in a study conducted by the Fraser Institute. The two categories of transportation performance in the study were passenger and freight transportation. Nova Scotia ranked first in air passenger transportation, and in highway transportation.

"We're acting on an aggressive plan for improving Nova Scotia roads by 2020, almost quadrupling our capital budget for roads and bridges over the last 10 years," said Murray Scott, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal. "We are very pleased to be recognized in this latest study for our work."

The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal is on track to meet its four-year plan to pave 2,000 kilometres of roads across the province.

As part of the department's commitment to improving Nova Scotia roads, more than $100 million is expected to be invested over the next few years in twinning Highway 104 and constructing a new section of highway near Antigonish. To date, nearly $66 million has also been invested in twinning and upgrading Highway 101.

"I'd like to thank all of the dedicated department staff and contractors around the province for the fine work they continue to do, and commend them for their hard work and dedication to a very important job," said Mr. Scott.

This year, the province also took steps to improve work zone safety by doubling fines and assigning demerit points to drivers' records for speeding in work zones. The fines, including court costs, range from $337 for a first offence to $2,407 for a third offence.

This year's total annual budget including highway spending and winter maintenance is $423.3 million. The department's highways division manages more than 23,000 kilometres of roads in Nova Scotia. It maintains 4,100 bridges and operates seven provincial ferries.