Province Invests in Colchester County Roads

TRANSPORTATION/PUBLIC WORKS--Province Invests in Colchester County Roads

Transportation and Public Works Minister Ron Russell has announced that Basin Contracting Limited of Elmsdale, Hants Co., is the successful bidder on a repaving project on Route 289, near Brookfield, Colchester Co.

"This is a major investment in Colchester County's roads infrastructure," said Mr. Russell. "The government has committed almost $4 million already this year to that county's highways."

The repaving work this summer will take place on Route 289, starting at the railroad crossing in Brookfield and ending 6.4 kilometres east of that point. The project is valued at about $1.2 million and should be finished by October.

"We have a $3.4-billion infrastructure problem in Nova Scotia that won't be solved overnight," said Mr. Russell. "But with our increased capital roads budget this year, we're able to complete several major projects like this one."

This year the Department of Transportation and Public Works' capital budget for road improvements is $85.5 million, an increase of $32 million over the previous year. It's the third year in a row that the capital portion of the roads budget has increased.

The department's highways division manages more than 23,000 kilometres of roads in Nova Scotia. It maintains an inventory of 3,800 bridges and operates seven provincial ferries. Four district offices are located in Bridgewater, Bedford, Truro and Sydney.