Nova Scotia roads among worst in country

Much of Nova Scotia’s infrastructure — roads, highways and anything else you can think to drive on — have been deemed poor in a recent Statistics Canada survey.

When compared to other Atlantic provinces, Nova Scotia’s infrastructure rated poorly. And according to the survey, many of the 23,000 kilometers of roads and highways maintained by the province are also in poor condition.

The survey, which collected data from 1,500 government organizations, set out to determine the state of the nation’s infrastructure.

In the inventory of publicly owned road assets, Nova Scotia had the highest percentages of poor ratings out of all the Atlantic provinces. This inventory included highways, arteries, collector, and local roads.

For example, 49 per cent of the province’s highways were rated as poor or very poor while the Canadian average sat at 17.1 per cent. Roughly 43 per cent of Nova Scotia’s arteries and 39 per cent of its collector roads were also deemed to be poor or very poor.

Marla MacInnis, a media relations adviser for the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal, stressed safety as a priority on the province’s roadways.

Each year, explained MacInnis, the department issues a five-year improvement plan for the province’s infrastructure. The plan highlights upcoming construction, replacement and rehabilitation projects.

“In creating this plan, the department looks at every road and prioritizes repairs,” she said. “We’re pleased to say we’ve put a lot of work into the improvement of our 100-series highways and trunk roads in recent years.”

MacInnis also noted that unlike other parts of Canada, Nova Scotia is affected by warm air coming up from the Carolinas and freezing air from the Arctic.

According to MacInnis, these two weather patterns create a unique freezethaw cycle.

“This impacts our roads a great deal in the winter causing potholes and other distress to the asphalt,” she said.