Highway 107 Upgrades (Burnside Expressway) | U/C

[Jstaleness]

Originally Posted by Reesor

I'm happy for those that live in Bedford West/South that have a more direct route to Burnside/Dartmouth. They would benefit greatly. Also folks in Cole Harbour that go to Sackville or even Bayers Lake may decide to take a path of least resistance. No traffic lights from Main St/Forest Hills Parkway to Bayers Lake sounds like a tempting route.

I live in Cole Harbour and I am now curious about heading to Bayers Lake this way. Yes, could be a moment or two longer, but no stopping for red lights could be fun.

[Keith P.]

Getting to Bayers Lake from Dartmouth has always been challenging. I haven't driven this new route yet, but it strikes me that it would be significantly longer in terms of distance and fuel usage. How much quicker it might or might not be is an open question. That would likely depend on whether the usual unaddressed bottlenecks and choke points like the bridges, surface street traffic volumes on the peninsula, etc., are acting up at that particular time.

[q12]

Halifax now has a decent partial Ring Road that is approx. 40 km in length. In 25-30 mins (no traffic) You can travel from Pleasant Street in Dartmouth to Bayers Road (or vice versa).

No Bridge. No Roundabouts. No Traffic Lights.

Just beautiful continuous freeway driving.

Dartmouth to Halifax


Halifax to Dartmouth

[Dartguard]

Originally Posted by Jstaleness

I live in Cole Harbour and I am now curious about heading to Bayers Lake this way. Yes, could be a moment or two longer, but no stopping for red lights could be fun.

I did it on Christmas Day going to my brothers place for the Griswald Christmas dinner(26 total family). I live just off Delta and took the Forest Hills parkway then the 107 to the 102 and down Connaught to my Brothers place.
It was 33 total Kilometers to Connaught and about 28 minutes at just slightly under speed limit. There was very little traffic so I could have shaved about 3-4 more minutes if I drove at the 110 I do travelling the Region.

It's great to have this option to get around the City.

[Reesor]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Getting to Bayers Lake from Dartmouth has always been challenging. I haven't driven this new route yet, but it strikes me that it would be significantly longer in terms of distance and fuel usage. How much quicker it might or might not be is an open question. That would likely depend on whether the usual unaddressed bottlenecks and choke points like the bridges, surface street traffic volumes on the peninsula, etc., are acting up at that particular time.

Agreed. Cons are that this route adds a lot of distance traveled, increasing gas cost and vehicle wear & tear over time. Pros: Save a buck each way for the bridge, avoid constant stops and starts in traffic and with traffic lights, avoid more stressful driving in traffic, lane changes etc. The usefulness will come during rush hour, when the new highway spreads out the traffic, making other routes more efficient.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Getting to Bayers Lake from Dartmouth has always been challenging. I haven't driven this new route yet, but it strikes me that it would be significantly longer in terms of distance and fuel usage. How much quicker it might or might not be is an open question. That would likely depend on whether the usual unaddressed bottlenecks and choke points like the bridges, surface street traffic volumes on the peninsula, etc., are acting up at that particular time.

Originally Posted by Reesor

Agreed. Cons are that this route adds a lot of distance traveled, increasing gas cost and vehicle wear & tear over time. Pros: Save a buck each way for the bridge, avoid constant stops and starts in traffic and with traffic lights, avoid more stressful driving in traffic, lane changes etc. The usefulness will come during rush hour, when the new highway spreads out the traffic, making other routes more efficient.

In terms of fuel usage, almost all vehicles get considerably better fuel economy travelling at highway speeds with no stops than one would get travelling through the city in stop and go traffic. Throw in waiting in a traffic jam and fuel economy goes out the window.

In terms of wear and tear, constant highway speeds are much easier on the drivetrain than stop and go, idling, etc. Other parts like brake pads wear less on the highway, but you will see more tire wear, given the increased mileage travelled. If I were to guess, I would say that vehicle costs wouldn’t be significantly higher travelling the 107 vs winding through the city.

[Jstaleness]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

In terms of fuel usage, almost all vehicles get considerably better fuel economy travelling at highway speeds with no stops than one would get travelling through the city in stop and go traffic. Throw in waiting in a traffic jam and fuel economy goes out the window.

In terms of wear and tear, constant highway speeds are much easier on the drivetrain than stop and go, idling, etc. Other parts like brake pads wear less on the highway, but you will see more tire wear, given the increased mileage travelled. If I were to guess, I would say that vehicle costs wouldn’t be significantly higher travelling the 107 vs winding through the city.

This is my thought as well. Most days through town will be fine, but if the bridge(s) are closed this will be nice

[OldDartmouthMark]

I've been through this a few times now and I have to say I'm liking it more each time. Would have been nice to have had this 20 years ago, but I'm not complaining...

If I do have one small complaint is that the turn goes off-camber in the righthand sweeping turn just after the Glendale/Duke exit heading to the 102 south. Generally it's not a problem, but I wonder if anybody will get sucked into the guardrail if they come in a little too hot in slippery conditions. Minor complaint, but it seems to go against the principles of good highway design.

[Keith P.]

I found myself in Bedford yesterday afternoon and since it was a nice day and I had nothing to do, I decided to try this new route to get back to Dartmouth and avoid the Magazine Hill. Construction of new curb and sidewalks on Rocky Lake Drive caused some delay, but eventually I found my way up the hill where I needed to turn left to access this route. That resulted in my first (and really, only real) complaint: the only signage was a 20 y-o small DTPW green sign with an arrow indicating "Duke St" and nothing else. Pure Nova Scotia, the personification of "IYKYK". Please, someone in the DTPW bureaucracy, put proper directional signage there indicating what routes await in that direction.

I wish I had a dashcam to provide a record of what I encountered as unfortunately Google Streetview hasn't been updated in 4 years, making their images look like a different place entirely. But I was lucky to encounter a slip lane with signage indicating that it would take me to the inbound side I was seeking and away I went with no confusion there and no roundabout or intersection necessary, what a break!

The highway didn't look like a typical NS highway, which is a compliment. Wide vistas, sweeping turns, good sightlines. As Saul noted a while ago, the stone faces created by the blasting through outcroppings are impressive. Is the Anderson Lake Connector essentially a service road & interchange for Dexter's operations in and around that area? It seems very elaborate for no other likely use.

I was heading for Burnside Drive and the only thing that caught me out was the unexpected roundabout, part of a dogbone pair, that takes you either to where I wanted to end up or outward to the old 107. I was momentarily disoriented since I didn't expect that, thinking the only roundie I'd have to navigate was the one at Burnside & Akerley that I've seen for a while now. Ah well, I guess they got a good deal on them and were trying to use them up. As I believe Mark noted, at that point I found myself going at highway speed and had to brake harder than I would have preferred to navigate the thing. Some signage and perhaps rumble strips might be useful.

Hopefully the old dangerous 2-lane part of the 107 from the 118 to Trunk 7/Forest Hills will be twinned in my lifetime. I understand that they are clearing brush alongside the ROW in preparation for that at some point.

[Jstaleness]

The signage from the Sackville Bedford area is pitiful if it even exists at all before merging from the 101 to 102. The first time I came back from Sackville to Dartmouth I had expected update signage. Sadly, I had to just guess, and thankfully being a resident I knew I had to use Airport/Truro as my direction. I already knew the Duke St exit was in that direction. How a tourist or non-local would handle that is beyond me. Now, once heading on the 102, the Dartmouth signs are perfect, and I applaud that they used 2 exit lanes for this as well.

I have a few gripes since I've now driven it a few dozen times or so. You have to drive it to experience it, but when heading from Dartmouth to Sackville there is a final merge turn toward 102/101 where speeds are supposed to be reduced to 60km. That's fine, but the banking of the roadway is opposite of the turn. Typically when making a heavy turn, the banking would help keep the vehicle "glued" to the road so to speak. In this one area it's the opposite and gives a weird feeling. (In my car at least) that you could slide off the road. I feel that it will be an interesting spot on the first few snow falls this year.
The other involves those damn roundabouts that Keith loves. Honestly, I don't mind roundabouts but what I do mind is small/poorly designed ones where you seemingly need to slow down to a crawl to navigate. The Burnside/107 loop is like that. Maybe because it's concrete and not asphalt? I don't know.

Lastly, and maybe this is coming down the road, but I found myself at the top of Akerley blvd last week, and for the life of me I cannot understand why there is no entrance to the 107 from here. At this point you're over top of it. Why do I need to double back and go to back down toward Burnside Dr to then drive back up onto a highway I have already been over??

In the end, these are negatives, but as Keith stated, the drive on the main highway is a treat. I find myself speeding every time as it's so smooth, cornered gently and well lit at night. The view of the Halifax Skyline is impressive Dartmouth bound as well.

Keith, they're currently building the overpass over the 118 and 107 now. Once that's done I believe we'll see action pick up on the rest of the project.

[q12]

Originally Posted by Jstaleness

Now, once heading on the 102, the Dartmouth signs are perfect, and I applaud that they used 2 exit lanes for this as well.

The new collector system on the 102 works really well.

[MastClimberPro]

Originally Posted by Jstaleness

Lastly, and maybe this is coming down the road, but I found myself at the top of Akerley blvd last week, and for the life of me I cannot understand why there is no entrance to the 107 from here. At this point you're over top of it. Why do I need to double back and go to back down toward Burnside Dr to then drive back up onto a highway I have already been over??

This! My office is in the portion of DC behind Ikea and assumed that once this opened I'd be able to make my way to the top of Akerley and merge onto the connector somehow, and away I'd go, not having to engage with a single light or left turn at a stop sign. Instead I have to wade back into Burnside, down Akerley and out Burnside Drive before getting to it. Really counterintuitive, not to mention somewhat counter productive. Not the end of the world but weird.

It seems as though once the expansion of Burnside on the north side of the connector is complete I'll be able to meander throgh that patch and hop onto the 107 from the north side further westward. But that seems like unecessarily adding congestion to local traffic in that new neighbourhood when an obvious alternative is literally a few feet away.

[Keith P.]

Sorry, @MastClimberPro, I can’t understand your issue as described. Wouldn’t you just drive to the first street that connects with Akerley up towards Tormont Cat or wherever and make your way from there? Maybe I’m missing something.

[Jstaleness]

I looked at an overhead map again. It's not current obviously, but I think I may be able to answer my own question. It does look like eventually that once the last roundabout at what will be Akerley and Burnside dr. (The new one) we'll call it, you'll be able to turn left from that roundabout, then back down Burnside Dr, then onto the 107 again. Coming from Miller Tirecraft as an example, that's 4 total roundabouts to enter a highway that you can almost see from your offices. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Akerle..._ep=EgoyMDI1MDcyMy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D This google maps link shows the area I am referring to.

[q12]

Wow they must have really screwed up on this part of the new expressway.

Road Closure on Highway 107 (Burnside Expressway) Access to Highway 102 Westbound at Highway 107.

- Please be advised of two closures on Highway 107, one on the northbound on-ramp to Highway 102 at Exit 4C and one on the southbound on-ramp at the new Highway 102 overpass, from August 5th, 2025, to September 12th, 2025, for 24 hours daily. Traffic will be detoured to the nearby roundabouts at Exit 4C. Highway 102 northbound traffic will exit at the first roundabout and Highway 102 southbound traffic heading towards Halifax of the Annapolis Valley will proceed to the second roundabout. Detour will be in place for around six weeks, detours will be clearly marked. Motorists are advised to plan accordingly.
Start Time Aug 5 2025, 6:00 AM
Anticipated End Time Sep 12 2025, 8:00 PM

Looks like they may have banked it incorrectly:

Outbound towards Bedford/Sackville






Source:
Dashcam footage
https://twitter.com/Waze_NS/status/1870292190414372887

[Jstaleness]

I believe it's the banking as well. It's awkward driving it as it makes my car feel unstable. Glad it's being addressed.

[Patrick Matthews]

Something that should have been addressed during the years of construction and inspection.

[Patrick Matthews]

Originally Posted by Jstaleness

I looked at an overhead map again. It's not current obviously, but I think I may be able to answer my own question. It does look like eventually that once the last roundabout at what will be Akerley and Burnside dr. (The new one) we'll call it, you'll be able to turn left from that roundabout, then back down Burnside Dr, then onto the 107 again. Coming from Miller Tirecraft as an example, that's 4 total roundabouts to enter a highway that you can almost see from your offices. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Akerle..._ep=EgoyMDI1MDcyMy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D This google maps link shows the area I am referring to.

There are 2 or 4 missing links that seem absurd given how inexpensive their additions would have been and how silly it is to drive through non-highway roads to get around.

[Dengler Avenue]

https://news.novascotia.ca/en/2025/12/17/province-releases-plan-invest-highways-bridges-ferries

I didn’t know that 107 would be twinned so soon. Will Montague Road overpass be replaced? It looks old, and it’s impossible to fit divided 6 lanes between the piers.

[Keith P.]

That very old original section of the 107 should have been twinned right from the start, but... Province of NS in the '70s didn't like spending on new-fangled things like that. It has been quite dangerous and lethal at times over the years since. Long overdue.