Minister Releases Action Plan to Make Highway 101 Safer

TRANSPORTATION/PUBLIC WORKS--Minister Releases Action Plan to Make Highway 101 Safer

Ron Russell, Minister of Transportation and Public Works, has approved an immediate start on work to improve safety on Highway 101. The work is recommended in the report of an independent consulting firm commissioned last spring to advise the Transportation Department on how to improve traffic management and safety on the highway until it is twinned.

"Twinning this highway is my top priority. But while work gets underway on that project, it is important that we act now to make the road safer for the public," said Mr. Russell. The minister released a detailed timetable for the work, which will begin this fall. The Department has budgeted $385,000 for the project this season and Mr. Russell said more money will be budgeted for work during the next fiscal year.

The report, by Atlantic Road and Traffic Corp. consultants, contains 26 specific recommendations on how to improve safety on the existing two lane stretch of road while the twinning project continues. The improvements range from better maintenance and pavement markings to repairing road shoulders, eliminating some downhill passing lanes and stricter law enforcement. However, the consultants agree that the optimum solution is the twinning of the stretch from Coldbrook to Mount Uniacke.

The consultants -- experts in highway maintenance and design -- concluded that the highway is reaching peak capacity. Annual average daily traffic volumes vary from 13,500 vehicles per day on the easterly end of the highway, to 3,300 vehicles per day near Bridgetown. Traffic volume is growing by an average of 300 more vehicles per day annually in the section closest to metropolitan Halifax.

While the report contains specific recommendations for highway design and maintenance improvements, the consultants review of accident reports for the years 1990 to 1999 show human action was a contributing factor in 86 per cent of the 1,410 reported collisions in the last decade. The RCMP, who were closely consulted as part of the investigation, report that speeding and aggressive driving are particularly noticeable on Highway 101. Eighty per cent of drivers exceed the 100 kilometres an hour speed limit on all locations studied for this report. Twenty-two per cent of drivers generally drive above 110 km/h, and 15 per cent were clocked at over 115 km/h. The consultants suggest specific actions to slow traffic including more police patrols and a public education campaign on the dangers of aggressive driving.

Mr. Russell said he is discussing the possibility of increased police presence on the highway and increasing the fines for speeding with his colleagues, the ministers of Justice and Service Nova Scotia, which is responsible for the Registry of Motor Vehicles.

"We all have a responsibility to reduce tragedies on all our highways. This report will not be allowed to gather a speck of dust. There is a need for action and I am going to make sure that's what we get," he said.