‘It’s a disgrace’: Residents fed up with deterioration of Route 955 in N.B.

Ed. note — The Transportation and Infrastructure Minister of New Brunswick is Richard Ames. Incorrect information appeared in an earlier version of this story.  

A group of residents who live along Route 955 say the road is unsafe, and they’re calling on the province of New Brunswick to widen and repave it entirely.

Route 955, which leads to both Murray Beach Provincial Park and Prince Edward Island, is part of the Acadian Coastal Drive, a scenic route designated by the province.

Last year Stephen Robb, who owns Loella’s Country Store on the road, gathered 300 signatures for a petition to ask the government address the road conditions.

“What brought this problem to the forefront was the constant traffic of tourists and seasonal (visitors) coming into the store talking about how awful the road is and why the provincial government doesn’t fix it,” Robb said on Monday.

1:27 Residents of Harcourt, N.B. concerned about rough rural roads and safety

He said the road, which was originally built in the 1960s, was too narrow, a problem made worse by its deteriorating shoulders.

Sharon Allan, who has lived along the road for over 40 years, said it’s in the worst state she’s ever seen it.

“There are a lot of places where really, the width of the road isn’t much more than one lane. And it makes it very dangerous if you’re meeting another vehicle and you have no choice but to go into that really rough edge,” she said.

“It’s a disgrace, really.”

Allan said the grass near the road wasn’t trimmed often, which means animals often catch motorists off guard.

Chris Stright, a fisher who works with the harbour authority at the Botsford Harbour Marina in nearby Murray Corner, said the state of the roads has impacted the commutes of the roughly 80 people who work on the boats.

“At the twilight hours when the wildlife is travelling there have been multiple deer, moose and bear accidents,” he said.

Longtime roadside resident Dieter Becker called the road “completely dilapidated.”

“I want this road to get rebuilt properly. Chip sealing this road is not helping. It was done a few years ago but it’s as bad, if not worse, as it was before,” he said.

Becker said his son-in-law blew a tire in a pothole on his way to P.E.I. while travelling on the road recently.

“The road is just unsafe,” Becker said.

Robb said a group of eight residents would be meeting with Transportation and Infrastructure Minister this Thursday to discuss their concerns. Richard Ames, the current minister, replaced predecessor Jeff Carr in the  transportation portfolio in a cabinet shuffle last June.

“We hope to be able to convince the minister to fix this road finally. And by fix, it needs to be widened and paved,” Robb said.

In an emailed statement, Department of Transportation and Infrastructure spokesperson Tyler McLean said there are two separate repairs planned for Route 955 in the 2024 construction season.

“This includes embankment repair and asphalt work near the bridge at Scott Brook just west of Murray Road to correct previous damage from hurricane Dorian in 2019,” the statement read.

“Route 955 will also see culvert replacement and riprap protection installed at McMorris Brook to repair damage from 2022’s Hurricane Fiona.”