HAMMONDS PLAINS: Several busy sections of Nova Scotia’s Hwy 102 near Halifax will be getting improvements aimed at making commuting easier, support more housing and give people more transportation options, the provincial Minister for Public Works said.
As part of the Highway 102 improvement project,a request for proposals was issued on October 31, for a consultant to identify future corridor requirements and produce preliminary design work for the area between exits 0 and 4 in Halifax Regional Municipality.
“This segment of the 102 is used by 60,000 people daily, and it’s an important part of the province’s goods movement network,” said Public Works Minister Fred Tilley.
“The Highway 102 improvement project has the potential to be one of the most significant transportation projects in Nova Scotia’s history and could support economic growth and housing development for the next 20 years.”
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The design will include:
– safety upgrades to the interchanges connecting the 102 with Highway 101 (exits 4A and 4B), Highway 107 (Exit 4C), Hammonds Plains Road (Exit 3), and Kearney Lake Road (Exit 2)
– enhancements for 20 kilometres of the 102 between Highway 107 and Bayers Road (Exit 0), focused on safety, capacity to move more people and improved efficiency; these could include modernizing challenging interchanges and establishing high-occupancy vehicle lanes.
The Department of Public Works and Link Nova Scotia have already initiated early planning activities for the project, including traffic counts and performance data, environmental screening and constraint mapping, archaeological investigations and hydrological assessments.
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N.S. has also completed a high-precision survey of the entire corridor using LiDAR, a remote sensing method that uses pulsed laser light to measure distances and create high-resolution 3D models, to support future design and evaluation efforts.
Quick Facts:
– qualified firms will have until November 26 to submit their proposals
– the Highway 102 improvement project is recommended in the Regional Transportation Plan under Action 1.2.2
– opportunities to provide feedback on the project are planned for 2026
– provincially designated special planning areas along the corridor aim to create more than 25,000 additional housing units for as many as 60,000 people over the next 20 to 30 years
