Nova Scotia sets road budget for 2019-20 at US$224 million

The Canadian province of Nova Scotia will get US$224 million for road upgrades in 2019-20, a boost of $11.2 million over the current period. Lloyd Hines, the province’s transportation and infrastructure renewal minister, said much of the additional funding will be for twinning portions of the province’s 100 series highways, including the 101, 103, 104 and the 107 Sackville-Burnside connector. The plan includes rebuilding and upgrading gravel roads and around $15 million of the money has been earmarked
December 20, 2018 Read time: 2 mins

The Canadian province of Nova Scotia will get US$224 million for road upgrades in 2019-20, a boost of $11.2 million over the current period.

Lloyd Hines, the province’s transportation and infrastructure renewal minister, said much of the additional funding will be for twinning portions of the province’s 100 series highways, including the 101, 103, 104 and the 107 Sackville-Burnside connector.

The plan includes rebuilding and upgrading gravel roads and around $15 million of the money has been earmarked for this. However, the highway improvement plan is subject to provincial budget approval next spring.

The $224 million will be made up of federal, provincial and municipal monies.

The 100-series highway are mostly controlled-access expressways, Super-2 roads and divided motorways. freeway. They connect major cities and regions, including Halifax, and Cape Breton Regional Municipality with smaller cities such as Yarmouth, Truro, New Glasgow and Amherst, as well as the neighbouring province of New Brunswick.

A Super-2 road refers to a two-lane highway that has partial control of access, occasional passing lanes and hard shoulders. It is often built for eventual conversion to motorway status if traffic volumes rise.

The upcoming work is part of the province’s five-year strategic Highway Improvement Plan published in 2017. It covers work to be done along the province’s 23,000km of roads and highways as well as the 4,100 bridges between this year and 2023.

According to the five-year plan, unlike many other provinces, Nova Scotia is responsible for maintaining the majority of all public roads in the province – 90% in this case. “The cost per kilometre is over CAN$300,000 (US$224,000) to repave, CAN$500,000-750,000  (US$373,000-560,000) more to upgrade a trunk highway…,” notes the document.

“Pavement Preservation is cost effective. Spending CAN$1 on pavement preservation before a paved road is 15 years old can eliminate or delay having to spend CAN$6-14 on rehabilitation or reconstruction when the pavement surface has failed.”

Asphalt milling, paving & compaction

Related Content

  • Philipp Swarovski lays down the marker
    June 10, 2019
    Swarco’s chief operating officer Philipp Swarovski shares his thoughts on highway safety and infrastructure in an age of uncertain future needs. David Arminas reports It was in Austria in 1969 when Manfred Swarovski opened his first glass bead factory. Five years later, operations started in the US. As the years rolled by there followed acquisitions and expansion of manufacturing facilities as well as a shift into intelligent transportation systems globally. Fast forward to 2019 and the family compan
    Read More
  • Contractors demand tenders for Carillion’s work in Alberta, Canada
    July 25, 2018
    Road contractors in the Canadian province of Alberta are demanding tenders be conducted for maintenance contracts that are currently run by Carillion, now in receivership. Carillion, based in the UK, went into receivership in January, and its Canadian operations did so as well, around a week later. The call for tenders in Alberta arose when the Alberta Roadbuilders and Heavy Construction Association learned that more than US$380 million worth of road contracts are likely to be handed over to Emcon, a
    Read More
  • Chinese investment in infrastructure
    April 24, 2014
    Three of China’s provinces, Jiangsu, Shanxi and Sichuan, have announced plans to invest in infrastructure expansion. Jiangsu Province has set an impressive infrastructure budget. Some US$11.38 billion has been earmarked for transportation infrastructure projects during 2014. Of the total, $4.53 billion will be invested into road construction projects, while some $454.8 million will be targeted at the construction of civil airports.
    Read More
  • Road transport key to Africa's trade links
    February 17, 2012
    Road transport is the key to improving Africa's links within its own territory, and further afield as Patrick Smith reports. Development of road transportation is the key to the future of the African economy, and countries on the continent are making great strides. According to a report by a transport infrastructure expert at the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), within the next 15 years the value of trade in Africa could reach US$250 billion if a $32 billion investment is made to integrate
    Read More

Highlighted Content