The federal and provincial government announced $4 million of upgrades for Route 114 on July 29, 2019. From left to right: Goshen Snowmobile Club president Vicki Gaunce; Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Bill Oliver; Fundy Royal MP Alaina Lockhart; Sussex-Fundy-St. Martins MLA Bruce Northrup. (Photo submitted)
Visitors to Fundy National Park will soon have a much smoother ride to the tourist destination.
On Monday, the provincial and federal governments announced a combined $4 million to resurface nearly 19 kilometres of Route 114.
Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Bill Oliver admits the road itself is not in the best of shape.
“Both of us [the provincial and federal governments] agree New Brunswick has to develop a tourism strategy that gives tourists and citizens of the province alike good highways to get to these attractions,” said Oliver.
About seven kilometres will be resurfaced with asphalt and the remainder will be resurfaced with chip seal. Culverts will also be replaced as required.
Oliver said recent complaints about the state of the road brought the repairs to the forefront.
“It’s not one that was not on our project list — we’re trying to work through asset management and it would have been recognized — but it certainly helped us move it along and take the action that we did,” he said.
The provincial and federal governments will invest a combined total of $4 million to improve Route 114, which serves as the main access road to Fundy National Park.https://t.co/FKb8kBJrgq pic.twitter.com/e3d2Mu5f1I
— Government of NB (@Gov_NB) July 29, 2019
Fundy Royal MP Alaina Lockhart said safe and convenient roadways are key as the government works to make sure the region is ready to take advantage of a growing tourism industry.
“Local residents and businesses, as well as visitors, will benefit tremendously from improvements to Route 114,” Lockhart said in a news release.
The tender will go out this week and work should start shortly after it closes in two weeks, Oliver said. He hopes the work will be completed by mid-October.
“Certainly that’s towards the end of the tourism season but better late than never,” he said. “I’m sure that not only tourists but the residents on the 114 will be very happy with the project once it’s completed.”
Provincial funding is provided through the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure’s $493-million capital budget, while federal funding comes from the Rural and Northern Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada infrastructure plan.
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