Trans-Canada Highway

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The completion of the four-lane Trans-Canada Highway in New Brunswick is a priority for both levels of government.

Work is on schedule and the four-lane Trans-Canada Highway in New Brunswick will be opened to safe traffic operations November 1, 2007.

A modern, four-lane Trans-Canada will make it easier to move people and goods throughout New Brunswick and to move them more efficiently and with greater safety. This will further enhance the already important role of the Trans-Canada as a trade corridor and will make New Brunswick a more attractive destination for visitors.

At present, 383 kilometres of the four-lane Trans-Canada Highway are open to traffic. A 32-kilometre section between Pokiok and Longs Creek will be opened by November 1, 2006, and the 98 kilometres of highway between Grand Falls and Woodstock will be opened November 1, 2007. Average annual daily traffic between these two points ranges from 4,200 to 8,000 vehicles.

When complete, the section of the four lane Trans-Canada Highway through New Brunswick will be 516 kilometres in length, and travelling between the Nova Scotia and Québec borders will take four hours and 42 minutes. Most of the existing Trans-Canada Highway between Longs Creek and Grand Falls will be bypassed by a new four-lane corridor. Sections of the existing Route 2 alignment at Aroostook, Woodstock, and Pokiok will be twinned.

Essential Link to Markets

Stretching from Nova Scotia through New Brunswick to the Québec border, the Trans-Canada Highway is the backbone of the Atlantic region's economy. It serves not only the transportation needs of New Brunswick, but also is the major east-west link between the Atlantic Provinces and the rest of Canada, and a north-south link to the United States.

International and inter-provincial exports are equivalent to nearly three quarters of New Brunswick’s gross domestic product (GDP). A total of approximately $7 billion worth of goods from the Atlantic Canada Provinces - $4 billion from New Brunswick alone - pass along New Brunswick highways every year.

Traditional Method and Large-Scale Project

A two-prong approach was chosen to complete the remaining 130 kilometres of the Trans-Canada Highway.

The 32-kilometre section between Pokiok and Longs Creek is being built using the New Brunswick Department of Transportation’s traditional method of calling tenders. The environmental determination has been obtained and the land acquisition is completed. Construction work began in the spring of 2004, and this section will be opened to traffic by November 1, 2006.

The New Brunswick Highway Corporation has reached an agreement with Brun-Way Group to design, build, and finance the construction of 98 kilometres of Trans-Canada Highway between Grand Falls and Woodstock. Under the agreement, Brun-Way Group will also be responsible of the selected upgrade of 128 kilometres of existing four-lane highway, as well as the operation, maintenance and rehabilitation of 275 kilometres of highway between Québec border and Longs Creek, and Route 95, between Woodstock and the U.S. border, until 2033.

New Investments

A new investment of $429.2 million, cost-shared on a 50-50 basis by the federal and provincial governments, will allow for the completion of the four-lane divided Trans-Canada Highway in New Brunswick between the Québec and Nova Scotia borders.

Benefits

The completion of the four-lane Trans-Canada Highway will result in several major benefits:

• The Trans-Canada Highway is the main arterial link between Atlantic Canada and the rest of the nation;
• Will enhance trade and tourism activities, since it will provide better access to the markets in central Canada and the United States;
• Will improve safety and reduce the number of accidents on the section between Fredericton and the Québec border.
• Will reduce transportation costs and travel time, since a controlled-access highway with a 100 km/h speed limit will ensure safe and efficient motoring from Halifax to the Québec border.

Funding Programs

The construction of the four-lane Trans-Canada Highway in New Brunswick has been financed through four federal-provincial funding programs:

• Canada-New Brunswick Highway Improvement Program,
• Canada-New Brunswick Strategic Highway Infrastructure Program,
• Strategic Highway Improvement Program, and
• Canada-New Brunswick Agreement on the Completion of the Twinning of the Trans-Canada Highway in New Brunswick.