December 20, 2023

 

BY EMAIL & REGISTERED MAIL

 

Honourable Kim Masland
Department of Public Works
2nd Floor, Johnston Building
1672 Granville Street

Halifax, NS

B3J 3Z8

 

Dear Ms. Masland:

 

Re:      Highway 101 Bypass between Marshalltown & Ashmore

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

I am reaching out to follow up on my recent email to formally advise your office of serious concerns regarding the Digby County section of the re-named Highway 101.  I am formally requesting an urgent meeting with you to discuss the critical matter of the Highway 101 Bypass affecting the communities of Marshalltown to Ashmore in Digby County.

 

Just as the West Nova Chamber of Commerce successfully led the campaign to retain the Digby Saint John Ferry, the Chamber has now committed to taking the lead in advocating for the Marshalltown to Ashmore bypass. Moving forward, our objective is to craft a communications strategy that positions provincial partners as proactive and ready to address the significant omission of the Highway 101 Bypass from the Five Year Plan. Alternatively, the pressing exposure to ongoing risk and liability may place this project under a different program for urgent remediation. It is our desire to see the province championing the needs of West Nova constituents and to that end we are seeking to gather information from your office so that we may work together.

 

Based on our initial information gathering in West Nova and beyond those boundaries we believe that your office may not be fully aware of the extent of the exposure associated with this overlooked bypass.

My immediate agenda includes the following questions:

 

1.     Is the Minister prepared to actively support the inclusion of the bypass in the Five Year Plan?

 

2.     Does the Minister place the safety issues associated with the Marshalltown to Ashmore
        Bypass above those of gridlock or traffic annoyances in other areas of the Province?

 

3.     Why is the bypass not part of the plan? This absence suggests a lack of government intent to build it.

 

4.     How many years ago was the announcement made regarding the impending bypass?

 

5.     Do you know why this portion of the Evangeline Trail was officially renamed Highway 101 which 

        contravenes regulations and safety statutes?

 

6.     As a health and safety issue with a history of fatalities and ongoing risk, does the Minister place the 

        Marshalltown to Ashmore bypass within the scope of a different provincial program where the budget

        can be assigned and rectification planned immediately?

    

7.     Why did the government compel our communities to change mailing addresses and does this imply a 

        lack of commitment to the bypass?

  

8.     Were you aware that assigning the name of an interprovincial 100 series highway such as 101 to the

        roadway through our residential communities conveys the message of a major highway, potentially 

        encouraging high-speed driving or the expectation of a high speed throughfare?

 

  

9.     Are you aware that the geographic area from Marshalltown to Ashmore is a series of connected

        residential communities with homes, school buses, children, churches and post offices located close

        together, similar to Clare that has the bypass?

 

10.     Are you aware of the frequency of accidents and fatalities on this “Highway of Hell”?

 

11.     Are you aware of the very serious safety concerns regarding the Ashmore to Marshalltown residential

          area? (Formerly known as Highway 1 and or The Evangeline Trail.)

 

12.     Are you aware of the swelling grassroots community movement to address the issues surrounding this

          bypass and avoid any further fatalities of which there was another one this summer?

 

Ideally, an urgent meeting in person or by zoom would allow us to address these concerns in detail. I would like to schedule a meeting in the first week of January 2024. Alternatively, your urgent written response to the above questions would greatly assist in framing the narrative surrounding the Forgotten Highway 101 Bypass.

 

We trust that as the Minister responsible for the above you are committed to the safety of our community and are committed to a course correction with respect to this issue. I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

 

Yours truly,

 

 

 

Dan F. White

CEO West Nova Chamber of Commerce

 

West Nova Chamber of Commerce  6860 Highway 101 Plympton, Nova Scotia B0W 2R0 Tel: (902) 510-1967 E-mail: ceo@westnovachamber.ca