|
 Proposed
Highway 113
Background
Currently,
through traffic on the 100-series highway system from Highway 103
travelling along the south shore to Highway 102 north of Bedford must
pass through the central core of the Halifax Regional Municipality.
The only
alternative is the Hammonds Plains Road (Route 213); through truck
traffic is prohibited there. Traffic Volumes on Hammonds Plains Road
are in the area of 12000-15000 vehicles per day.
To reduce the
travel time for trucks and others, a 10-km long, 100-series highway
connection (Highway 113) from Highway 103 near the Sheldrake Lake
Interchange (Exit 4) to Highway 102 near the Hammonds Plains Road
Interchange (Exit 3) is proposed. This would reduce the travel
distance from Highway 103 to Highway 102 by approximately 13 km, a
travel time savings of 8 to 10 minutes.
Highway 113
would also significantly reduce through non-truck traffic on Hammonds
Plains Road. It's estimated the proposed highway would reduce traffic
there by approximately 3500 to 5500 vehicles per day (at today's volumes).
In addition,
an interchange at Kearney Lake Road would improve access to the
100-series highway network and meet the anticipated needs of
expanding development in the area.
TPW staff have
created an initial plan for the proposed alignment. Property mapping
for the study area shows that several large private land owners/developers
would be directly impacted by this alignment.
Description
The proposed
Highway 113 would form part of the provincial 100-series highway
network. As such, the highway would be a four-lane freeway with a
wide median; fully controlled access (meaning entrances and exits
would be at interchanges only); and a designated speed posted at 100
km/hr to 110 km/hr.
High speed
"fly-overs" are proposed at both ends for connection to
Highways 102 and 103. A full diamond interchange is being considered
at Kearney Lake Road while a partial diamond interchange is proposed
to serve the future connector road west of Frasers Lake.
Planning
Process
Planning for
this future alignment began early in 1998. The objective of this
undertaking is to identify and preserve a corridor of land for the
proposed highway in order to address the transportation needs of the
province and the local community. The project is currently undergoing
a provincial Class I Environmental Assessment.
Preservation
of a corridor does not imply that construction will take place immediately.
Construction
will likely be phased in over the next 10 to 15 years based on
available funding and priority among other departmental and
government initiatives.
Cost
The estimated
cost of constructing the four-lane Highway 113, including the
connector road, intersections, structures and connections to Highways
102 and 103, is $30 million.
For
additional information, or to make comments:
Nova Scotia
Department of Transportation and Public Works
Highway
Planning and Design - (902) 424-7501
P.O. Box 186
• Halifax • Nova Scotia • B3J 2N2
or contact Public
Affairs and Communications - (902) 424-8687
tpwpaff@gov.ns.ca
Copyright
© 2003, Province
of Nova Scotia. |
