Hwy 103 Twinning
Safety
Safety on Highway 103 is a top priority. Increasing traffic volumes and a history of traffic accidents in the section between Exit 5 at Upper Tantallon and Exit 6 at Hubbards has made this section a candidate for twinning. Twinning this section will extend the previously twinned portion of the highway, from Halifax to Upper Tantallon (Exit 5).Building an interchange and a connector road would improve access for emergency responders and reduce the time it takes to travel to events, further increasing safety in the area.
Interchange
An interchange(also known as an 'exit') is a requirement for this project. The new twinned portion of the highway will be controlled access, which means that for safety reasons there will not be any driveways allowed off of Highway 103. An interchange and service road will be required to provide access to the highway for landowners who will no longer have direct access from their properties.Modern 100-series highways are built with interchanges approximately every 8 kilometres. Currently, the stretch between the interchanges at Upper Tantallon and Hubbards is 21 kilometres long. This makes emergency response a challenge, and means that people missing an exit have too long to travel to the next exit to safely turn around.
Building a new interchange is part of bringing the section of Highway 103 up to current standards for 100-series Highways.
Connector Road
A connector road between St. Margaret's Bay Road and the new interchange is being considered as a safety measure. It would provide better access for emergency vehicles.Six route options for a connector road are currently being considered. A thorough examination of the potential routes is being conducted, and no decision on the best route will be made until all information is gathered and assessed. The examination includes many factors, including:
- Presence of lakes and rivers
- Presence of wetlands
- Presence of houses and/or impact on houses
- Suitable land features
- Rare species, nesting areas
- Archeological findings
- Water crossings
- Length of route