Highway 102/103 - Interchange Upgrade | Completed
 

Great news this horrible outdated and congested interchange was long overdue for an overhaul.

I see from the map along with an all new overpass and ramps, they appear to widening the 102 with a 3rd land Northbound to Chain Lake Dr. to make that section 6 lanes. Also they appear to be building new collector lanes southbound to North West Arm Dr. similar to what Highway 118 has along Dartmouth Crossing. :tup:

It took a minute to figure out what is new, since a good part of the proposed piece is a very similar alignment to what's there already. But the curve on the north side of the interchange will be made a bit less severe.

Way back when in a list of proposed highway projects I saw something like a $1.1B entry that described an overhaul of the 102. I think it included widening the whole thing to 6 lanes plus on/off ramps and maybe a connection to the MacKay. Technically the highways link up via surface streets, along Bayers and Connaught. That is not a very good arrangement.

He added that Nova Scotia's low population density and widespread infrastructure makes maintaining it a challenge.

Why do they always have to put this in? The Halifax area doesn't have a low population density and building highways there isn't particularly difficult. Nova Scotia has the second-highest population density in Canada after PEI and building and maintaining highways there is easier than in a lot of Canada (like in BC and Alberta where some highways go through mountains). If NS roads are bad it's because they're poorly funded and maintained, not because there is something special about NS that makes things harder there than everywhere else.

That should be a nice improvement. I've always thought the on-ramp to the 102 from the 103 to be a little short given the amount of traffic. Currently you have to pick a space and gun it or you will run out of lane. The collector between the 103 and Northwest Arm Drive should help traffic as well, though I'm not sure that it will alleviate the morning traffic jam as that seems to be more of a volume thing than a routing of flow - the bottleneck at Bayers Road will still be in place.

The Sackville exit on the 102 outbound and the interchange between Victoria Rd. and the 111 could use similar updates...

Here is roughly what is being added that I can determine from their map:

http://i.imgur.com/CaKZ4dY.jpg

Updated design on this project currently under construction from the herald

http://thechronicleherald.ca/metro/1...p-now-underway

102 facing NORTH BOUND
http://thechronicleherald.ca/sites/d...A9KJM4H.11.jpg
Source: thechronicleherald.ca
http://thechronicleherald.ca/metro/1...p-now-underway

http://thechronicleherald.ca/sites/d...04_27_2018.JPG
Source: thechronicleherald.ca
http://thechronicleherald.ca/metro/1...p-now-underway

Hopefully it will result in a longer entrance ramp to the 102 northbound. There is currently a very short merge that makes it really difficult to find a spot during higher traffic volumes.

That ramp should go all the way to Lacewood

Agreed. Similar to what they did with Kearney lake to Larry Uteck.

That would be best, but lengthen it at least.

And while they are at it, lengthen the exit from Lacewood northbound to the 102. When the left turn arrow empties the backed up traffic from Bayer's Lake onto that ramp there's usually a minimum of 10 cars in a line trying to merge onto the 102 all at once, with varying results. Last night I was caught behind a couple of cars that were having difficulty merging with 102 traffic resulting in a near stand-still on the 102 while they sorted it out. There were a few nervous moments of glancing in the mirror hoping not to be rear ended by an 18 wheeler traveling at highway speeds, and the left lane was not available to move into due to oncoming traffic and a few kamakazi-type moves by motorists behind me trying to get over to the left lane at the same time.

There are a few other exits which come to mind that need upgrading as well, such as the one from/to the 102 northbound at Bedford/Sackville highway 101 interchange. Notoriously short entry/exit (basically a loop) that was obviously designed when traffic volumes were much less, and similarly the exit from Victoria Road to the 111 where you have zero merge distance to jump into all the traffic from the MacKay bridge...

:2cents:

That one is BRUTAL. I've lost count the number of times I have seen people almost get clocked on those super short entry/exit sections

I'm a little concerned that there has been no indication of lighting in the article(s) nor the rendering. Driving this stretch at night, one is abruptly plunged into almost complete darkness, as if in the middle of nowhere. Being a very busy route (arguably one of the main entrances to / exits from the city) and important interchange, I would say there ought to be serious consideration for lighting, similar to the section of the 118 adjacent to Dartmouth Crossing.

On another note, I'm curious as to why there are apparently five outbound lanes proposed through the underpass and three inbound. Clearly one will exit around to the 103, but perhaps the right two lanes will both exit there? Or is afternoon rush hour just that much worse than in the morning?

Yup. I came very close to getting hit there once (Victoria Rd onto 118). Someone tried to change lanes to the outside lane to let some merge without checking the lane first (I was in the outside lane). It was an EXTREMELY close call. I layed on the horn for what felt like 10 seconds while trying to evade them. They just kept on coming. I slammed on the brakes and pulled over to within an INCH of the concrete divider... horn blaring... brakes slammed to the floor... tires screeching... cloud of smoke from the burnt rubber. I still think they never even saw me. They just kept going after missing me by inches and forcing me almost into the concrete wall.

Laughing my ass off - great writing - very descriptive - I hope you are a writer - What is your next novel?

One would have to assume that lighting is part of the plan. This area is notorious for fog. That and add a wet rainy night and it is a navigation challenge for the most experienced motorist.

Well written... I can almost smell the burning rubber... ;)

Yah that was before I bought a new car in 2013. The car I was driving didn’t have antilock brakes or traction control of any of that fancy stuff. So the wheels locked up hard and it was all very loud and smoky and dramatic!

The main thing is that it ended well! That's a good job of avoiding a potential disaster - you don't have a lot of time to make decisions and take action in these situations. :tup:

A more detailed plan showing the lanes is available. The outbound lane on 102 might be longer than it currently is but it won't be extended up to Lacewood.

https://novascotia.ca/tran/highways/...lan-aerial.pdf

Thanks, it looks like it could be an improvement, but it's not really clear from the diagram as to the extent. Hopefully somebody has recognized a need for a longer merge lane.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dujox3UWwAAd8Jf.jpg:large
https://twitter.com/AeroVisionUAV/st...65730462810119

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dujox5HW4AIqEEM.jpg:large
https://twitter.com/AeroVisionUAV/st...65730462810119

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DujowPkXQAAY9KN.jpg:large
https://twitter.com/AeroVisionUAV/st...65730462810119

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dujox35WkAEQXKH.jpg:large
https://twitter.com/AeroVisionUAV/st...65730462810119