Start of Highway 101 Project

The first tender call has been issued for work associated with the twinning of Highway 101.

Ron Russell, Minister of Transportation and Public Works, has approved a tender call for construction of an expansion of the Mount Uniacke interchange. The work is needed to allow construction of a four-lane highway beneath the interchange structure.

"This marks the start of a twinning project that is urgently required and the highest road priority of the provincial government," said Mr. Russell.

The tender award will be made in mid-September. The minister says the department will be in a position to call tenders for actual road work on the twinning project in 2001 if federal funding is available.

Highway 101 is part of the National Highways System and the provincial government is continuing to press the federal government to provide funding to allow the work to proceed at a faster pace. Due to the fact that the highway may be eligible for federal funding, the project is undergoing an environmental screening by federal authorities at the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency. Transportation and Public Works is optimistic that the project will receive federal environmental approval this fall.

Plans for twinning the highway from Mount Uniacke to Ellershouse have been underway for several years. The 21-kilometre twinning project is estimated to cost $20 million.

"I am hopeful that if the federal government gives environmental approval to the much needed twinning of 101, then they will realize they have a responsibility to help pay for the improvements," said the minister.