The new exit for Bridgewater will go between Exit 12 and Exit 13. Photo: Evan Taylor
The Five Year Highway Improvement Plan lists the long-anticipated new exit for Bridgewater as one of the projects set to begin this year.
Bridgewaters new exit is part of the $500 million the provincial government plans to spend on road improvements in 2021-2022.
The exit will be installed between Exit 12 and Exit 13, which opens up the opportunity for the development of the northern part of Bridgewater.
Bridgewater Mayor David Mitchell says that potential development is one of the most exciting aspects of the new exit.
“Opening up this land on the other side of the highway creates job opportunities, business opportunities, and future opportunities to diversify our economy and retain our youth,” Mitchell said.
The land in question is currently undeveloped greenfields but Mitchell says town council has begun preliminary work to develop it.
The new exit will be built between Exit 12 and Exit 13 on Highway 103. Photo: Department of Transportation and Infrastructure.
“At this point what council has approved is to get that land serviced,” He said. “In our conversations with developers, they’ve identified it’s important that there not only be road access but there also needs to be sewage and water service.”
Another benefit the new exit will bring is reduced travel for trucks, specifically those serving the Michelin plant.
Mitchell says that over time the new exit will save thousands of hours and kilometers for drivers who currently get off at Exit 13 and then backtrack to the Michelin plant.
Athletes who visit Bridgewater will also see a benefit, as the new exit will improve access to the town’s largest sports facility, the LCLC.
The cost to construct the interchange, roundabouts, and intersection improvements is currently estimated at $50.8-million.
The new exit is listed as a project that has already begun and the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure estimates it will be open by Fall 2022.
Other Lunenburg County Highway Projects
The five-year plan includes many other projects slated to take place in Lunenburg county.
This year in addition to the exit the province plans to add passing lanes between Exit 9 and 10 which is listed as a multi-year project.
Intersection improvements are also scheduled to be completed this year at Trunk 10 and MacCullough Road.
The last major Lunenburg county project slated for this year are improvements to the Indian Path Bridge on Route 332.
The only major local highway project listed for 2022 is the ongoing work towards twinning Highway 103 from Ingramport to Hubbards.
Other projects scheduled to take place that year include improvements to the Veinot Bridge (Route 331) and the Wentzell Bridge (Branch Lahave Road).
Due to the nature of future planning, the five-year plan is more sparse in the last three years, with no major projects currently listed for Lunenburg County in 2023.
In 2024, the only listed project in Lunenburg County is major work to the Lahave Island Bridge (Crescent Beach Road).
No major projects are listed in Lunenburg County for 2025.
In addition to these projects, there are multiple smaller asphalt resurfacing projects slated to take place over the next five years.
