Paving Contracts Awarded in Hants County

TRANSPORTATION/PUBLIC WORKS--Paving Contracts Awarded in Hants County

Nova Scotia's plan to upgrade many of the province's highways will mean smoother, safer roads in Hants County this fall.

The Department of Transportation and Public Works recently awarded three contracts for road improvements in Hants County worth almost $3 million.

The projects are:

• Trunk Highway 14: repaving from the junction of Highway 101 (Exit 5) east for about 8.5 kilometres to the intersection with Route 215 at Brooklyn. The winning contractor was Chapman Bros. Construction Ltd. with a bid of $1,314,855.

• Brushy Hill Road: repaving in the East Uniacke area from Etter Road north for about 7.1 kilometres to just north of Lakecrest Drive. The winning contractor was Dexter Construction Co. Ltd. with a bid of $969,900.

• Route 236: repaving from Union Corner for 4.8 kilometres to Scotch Village. Dexter Construction was the winning contractor on this project with a bid of $681,975.

The three contracts will result in 20.4 kilometres of paving at a total cost of $2,966,730.

"The budget for 2005-06 calls for our department to spend $143- million on constructing and upgrading Nova Scotia highways," said Ron Russell, Minister of Transportation and Public Works. "By allowing the smooth, safe circulation of people and goods, highways act as the lifeblood of the province. Bringing them back to top shape is an important job."

The Department of Transportation and Public Works' highways division manages more than 23,000 kilometres of roads in Nova Scotia. It maintains 4,100 bridges and operates seven provincial ferries. Staff provide services from offices in Bridgewater, Bedford, Truro and Sydney.