PORT ELGIN, N.B. – Mark Allen has owned a gas station along Trans-Canada Highway 16 for 35 years and says it’s in the worst state he has ever seen.
The road is patchy and uneven. There are potholes, eroding shoulder sections and some of the road signs are blocked by branches.
He’s heard many complaints from his customers.
“Worst road in Canada. Unbelievable for a highway that links province to province to be in that bad condition,” he said.
Earlier this year, he started a petition calling on the government to repave the highway instead of patching it. He asks customers to sign it and has collected about 300 signatures so far.
Allen said it should be an election issue because the road is used not just by New Brunswickers, but by anyone coming or going to Prince Edward Island and he believes it’s having an impact on tourism.
Highway 16 stretches from Aulac, N.B., near the Nova Scotia border, to Prince Edward Island. The section between Port Elgin, near Allen’s gas station, and the Confederation Bridge sees the most traffic as cars travelling from Moncton and surrounding areas on Highway 15 join the flow.
Allen Denis estimates he travels the route about 20 times a year between his home in Lower Sackville, N.S. and his cottage on P.E.I. He said the road is so rough, it’s damaged his car.
- ‘Shock and disbelief’ after Manitoba school trustee’s Indigenous comments
- ‘Super lice’ are becoming more resistant to chemical shampoos. What to use instead
- Is home ownership only for the rich now? 80% say yes in new poll
- Invasive strep: ‘Don’t wait’ to seek care, N.S. woman warns on long road to recovery
“I brought my car over last time,” he said. “I’ve got an appointment next Wednesday to take it in and see what’s banging underneath and it’s a result of that road.”
Ray Churcher, who has been visiting the area for the last 10 days from Toronto, agreed. He said he’s driven back and forth along the road three times on his trip.
“Last week, I came across in a truck and it was a little bumpy,” he said. “But I came back in a little, small Fiat and that was really hell.”
Both of them signed the petition.
The province is currently paving a 2.5 km stretch of the highway, near the traffic circle in Port Elgin where Highway 15 joins Highway 16, but Allen says it’s not enough.
“They should have gone down probably another at least two to three kms,” he said.
Comments