Highway 104 twinning project submitted for environmental approval
The provincial Transportation Department has officially requested environmental approval for the twinning of Highway 104 in Pictou and Antigonish counties.
The department plans to twin the section of Highway 104 from Sutherlands River, N.S., to Addington Forks, a distance of 38 kilometres.
A new, four-lane highway will be built south of the existing highway for the 10 kilometres between Barneys River Station and James River, and the remaining stretch will see the existing lanes twinned. Once the four-lane highway is built, the old roadway between Brown's Mountain Road and Pushie Road may be removed.
Construction could start next year and is expected to take three to seven years.
The project will include modifications to the James River interchange and the construction of a new interchange at Barneys River Station.
Environmental impacts
The Transportation Department submitted its environmental assessment to the Environment Department on Thursday.
It identified several negative environmental impacts of the project, including decreased air and water quality, increased greenhouse gas emissions and noise, and effects on habitat, at-risk species and access to land for traditional use by Mi'kmaq people.
Despite that, the department concludes that most long-term impacts will not be significant because it plans to mitigate those effects through various measures.
There is a small population of mainland moose in the Pictou-Antigonish highlands. But a study conducted for the project found that while the moose may use the project area as a corridor, they don't regularly inhabit it.
Wildlife fencing will be erected at two crossings that will be created under the highway at Weavers Mountain and near Mill Road for use by wildlife, all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles. Other wildlife passages for amphibians, reptiles and large and small mammals will be created at river crossings.
The project could result in loss of habitat or disturbance to at-risk bats, birds, and turtles, and permanent loss of some fish habitat and wetlands.
There are 12 known black ash trees in the project area. The black ash is rare in Nova Scotia with only about 1,000 specimens remaining, many stunted and in poor health.
The environmental assessment calls for any smaller specimens to be transplanted to nearby suitable habitat, and for seed to be collected from any trees that are too large to move. That seed will then be germinated and the tree will later be planted.
Safety improvement
Residents have called for the deadly stretch of highway to be twinned for years. From 2007 to 2015, there were 444 crashes between Sutherlands River and Antigonish, including 11 fatal collisions. The twinning project is expected to reduce collisions by up to 35 per cent.
The new highway will have a posted speed limit of 110 kilometres per hour.
The public can submit comments on the project
