The latest section of Highway 103 to be twinned is now open.
The 22-kilometre stretch between Upper Tantallon and Exit 6 at Hubbards and Exit 5 at Upper Tantallon is now complete and will open to the public sometime next week.
Public Works Minister Kim Masland was on hand for the announcement and as someone who travels Highway 103 often she says it was much needed.
“The section of highway I’m at today there have been too many accidents,” Masland said. “We know, statistics prove that twinning saves lives so this is a great day for people who use it.”
The latest section to open was part of a three-phase twinning project of Highway 103. The first phase was the new interchange and connector road in Ingramport (Exit 5A) which opened in January 2017. The second phase was the twinning between Exit 5 and Exit 5A which opened in December 2020.
The project was initially budgeted at $129 million but came in at $117 million, though that figure has yet to be finalized.
It was delivered slightly behind schedule, originally slated to open in Fall 2023. Masland said in an interview that was primarily due to last year’s heavy rainfall which damaged some of the site and also resulted in workers being sent elsewhere to deal with critical damage across the province.
Although this project has now concluded there are still other projects ongoing that will see Highway 103 twinned further South.
The next section to be twinned, from Exit 6 at Hubbards to Exit 7 at East River.
The province hopes to have Highway 103 fully twinned from Halifax to Chester by 2030.
