Renewed calls for Highway 103 to be twinned

HUBBARDS, N.S. – A cross on the side of the road reminder of lives tragically lost along Highway 103.

“We was over Tantallon way and he just went in and got into a collision and got killed” said Shawn Harnish, who lost a close friend on the highway.

Harnish says this Highway is dangerous for a number of reasons.

“Too much traffic, it’s too busy, too many cars coming in and out and not enough road and no one pays attention.

“There was a couple crashes there the other day that I got caught up in.”

In fact, CAA has named Highway 103 the second deadliest highway in the country.

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“Between 2006 and 2009 alone there was 29 deaths and it was that year, 2009 that Prime Minister Harper said it would be addressed immediately, it hasn’t been and that was four years ago.” said Gary Howard, with CAA.

Today is the first time Ron Ansley has travelled this highway — and once is enough.

“I’m travelling from Alberta. This is my first time down here and it’ll probably be my last.”

Lisa MacDonald lives in Hubbards and travels the 103 daily.

“It’s kind of scary to drive, especially at night, last night driving in the fog, cause it’s just the one lane there, so I think it would be a good idea to twin it.”

Many have been calling for the section of Highway 103 between exits 5 and 13 to be twinned for years. A new petition is picking up steam with nearly 4,500 people wanting change that could save lives.

“In the case of the 103, most engineers and experts would point to the lack of twinning. there’s a lot of traffic on that highway, and the twinning is very minimal,” said Howard.

“Typically if you have twinned highways you reduce the number of accidents and fatalities dramatically. And because of the load of traffic on that road, and it’s not twinned for the most part except for a very small portion near Halifax it leads to more accidents and fatalities.”

Someone dies every four hours on a road in Canada. Without change many fear it’s only a matter of time before there’s another fatality along this particular road.