Just One Klick!.........NS TCH104 Twinning Up-date

[ghYHZ]

Just one klick!.......that's how far the eastern end of the contiguous North American Freeway Network*** was extended this year on TCH104 between New Glasgow and Sutherlands River, Nova Scotia.

(***Yes, I realize there's a seldom used at grade RR crossing at Moncton and you have to stop at the Cobequid Tolls on the 104 and the US/Can Border.....but west of Pine-Tree, you are essentially on a multi-lane, controlled access highway to just about any place in North America......including most major Canadian cities (via the US for now, until Autoroute 85 is completed)

In the first photo below from last year (October 2010) two-way traffic is detoured onto the new eastbound carriageway while an existing structure at Pine Tree is rebuilt.

Second photo (October 2011) the overpass is now rebuilt and the fully twinned highway is extended one kilometer east.







By this time next year the twinning will be completed a further 4KMs to Sutherlands River where work is continuing on new twin bridges and Route 345 overpasses.







The Trunk 4 interchange is complete and will open shortly with Roundabouts at each end of the new structure. Two-way traffic remains on the existing highway until next summer when it will become the westbound carriageway.







>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


Thirty-seven KM further east, construction on the TCH104 Antigonish By-pass is continuing and the 8KM first phase will open next year.  

[Stephane Dumas]

Very good pictures.

[AsphaltPlanet]

Agreed.  I like the before and after of the top two, especially.  I notice the mileage marker contains both route direction and designation.  Is that something new to Nova Scotia highways?

[yakra]

Awesome photos. Please keep us updated!
(MORE< MORE!)

Any idea what's to become of old 104 and/or 4 once the Antigonish bypass is completed?

[david1gray]

Hi, my first post here. I'm from Westville, but go to school in Antigonish so I travel this road a lot! Thanks for the pics, I will try to get some myself as things progress some more. With the Antigonish bypass, you can find most of the info you need to know about it here http://www.104antigonish.ca/wordpress/?page_id=34

[webfil]

Wow, now that is european roundabout signage you got there!

I wish I could go back to NS and explore beyond Truro!

Thanks for the pics.

[Transportfan]

Hi. New to the forum!

What's with the two new bridges close together? Is the new freeway going to have a median barrier, with the old highway being turned into a service road?



I notice that the new overpasses are built with provisioning for six-laning, and find that rather stupid here. For one thing, it looks ugly and will almost certainly never be needed. Why not just take the slight risk and built it with just the two lanes instead of wasting money in a misguided attempt to save it in future?

[yakra]

What's with the two new bridges close together? Is the new freeway going to have a median barrier, with the old highway being turned into a service road?

I'm interested in the answer to the service road question as well. I'm working on the Nova Scotia Trunk Routes for the Clinched Highway Mapping website, and want to know if this would close the gap on NS4 between exits 27A and 27 of NS104.

[david1gray]

What's with the two new bridges close together? Is the new freeway going to have a median barrier, with the old highway being turned into a service road?

I believe the two bridges are so close because the new divided highway ends just around that turn. The old highway becomes the connecting road for trunk 4 and shore road to exit 27A

like so:

[yakra]

Aah, you must be the same David1gray posting over here:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=190618&page=3

I saw your Oct 15th post saying "the highway should be complete this time next year!" -- Is that pretty accurate; do you know anything specific about an opening date?
Or for that matter, how about for Antigonish?

[KEVIN_224]

Sorry for the confusion, but do a couple of those signs have a US Route 4 shield on them? I think that road ends in Portsmouth, NH!

[yakra]

Who know that US Routes 1 & 12 intersect? In Canada, no less!
I think the cardinal directions are a little oogy, though...

White background aside, these trunk route shields have a VERY familiar shape...

[david1gray]

Aah, you must be the same David1gray posting over here:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=190618&page=3

I saw your Oct 15th post saying "the highway should be complete this time next year!" -- Is that pretty accurate; do you know anything specific about an opening date?
Or for that matter, how about for Antigonish?

That would be me haha I don't know any specific opening dates, all depends on the weather I suppose.

For Antigonish, this is all the info I can find atm:

The detour is expected to be in place between the summer of 2012 and the opening of the new highway in the Fall of 2012

from: http://www.104antigonish.ca/wordpress/?page_id=17

[Transportfan]

Aah, you must be the same David1gray posting over here:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=190618&page=3

I was reading through that thread and it said that the proposed Melford shipping terminal is starting construction. Should mean population growth and a lot of truck traffic and maybe an extension of the 104 twinning to the causeway.  :camo:

[david1gray]

Unfortunately, they still have not started construction on the Melford Terminal. The start dates keeping getting pushed back. But yes, when it does open, we should expect to see a push to have the highway twinned all the way to at least Antigonish.

[yakra]

Since a few people familiar with Nova Scotia are following this thread, I'll spam in a link for this other thread I started:
Mind the gap! Nova Scotia Trunk Routes and 100-series Arterials.