Official Fredericton, NB projects thread

[trev71]

Originally Posted by Taeolas

Fox News Announcement of the 2NC overpass



And I agree, getting that connection finished is long long overdue. Hopefully it will spur more development at 2NC too. Sure you can go down to Maple to get there when you're coming from Nashwaak area, but it's not really convenient. Brookside/Nashwaak as they are right now, are basically cut off from the St Marys/2NC area.

There is a lot of open space up there for development. Might perk the interest of some companies now after hearing this

[Twinkies]

Originally Posted by trev71

There is a lot of open space up there for development. Might perk the interest of some companies now after hearing this

Or get to Bingo quicker. Its a Chipman miracle.

[Franco401]

Originally Posted by Taeolas

Surprised they aren't going for a roundabout. Glad it's an overpass. It's long needed and planned for.

This was always going to be an overpass. Roundabouts on highways are not the new norm, the Smythe one was built because of declining traffic and because the province didn't want to pony up overpass money. Ring Rd is different because it's city-maintained and the traffic is going up.

[Taeolas]

Originally Posted by Franco401

This was always going to be an overpass. Roundabouts on highways are not the new norm, the Smythe one was built because of declining traffic and because the province didn't want to pony up overpass money. Ring Rd is different because it's city-maintained and the traffic is going up.

Yup, I think if you go back a few years in this thread I posted the announcement they were surveying for the planned overpass there way back then. IIRC there was some disappointment that they weren't going to be able to punch 2NC through to connect to Douglas at the same time.

Two years to get the overpass built from now; it's long overdue.

IIRC, I believe the Brookside/Ring Road roundabout is still planned for a similar time frame.

Ideally, once this overpass was built, I would close off Maple's access to Ring Road entirely (or at least make it only link up with traffic flow; right turn only, no cross-traffic, no traffic lights), and finish the ramps so there is direct access to/from Devonshire/Main Street and Ring Road from all directions. That would make the Ring Road controlled access from the Bridge to Brookside.

[OliverD]

I would take any timeframes with a grain of salt. Route 8, Welsford Bypass, and Hanwell Road reconstruction were all delayed, for example.

[KnoxfordGuy]

So is the overpass going where the intersection with lights is now? I don't know that area very well.

[Blue Blazer]

Originally Posted by OliverD

I would take any timeframes with a grain of salt. Route 8, Welsford Bypass, and Hanwell Road reconstruction were all delayed, for example.

Yup I bet the mucky mucks in Douglas Ave area will have their — in a knot over this. I love it when they complain. They are the ones that had their houses built behind a highway

[Taeolas]

Originally Posted by KnoxfordGuy

So is the overpass going where the intersection with lights is now? I don't know that area very well.

Further up the road, where the current exit is to go to the Walmart/Canadian Tire/Kent.

Currently, you can only get off the highway if you are going Northbound (away from the city). And you can only get back on the highway if you are still going northbound (away from the city towards Brookside).

If you are coming FROM Brookside or you want to go TO the city, you need to go down St Mary's Street to Maple and cross at the lights.

The Overpass (When it eventually gets built), will let you reach that shopping area from Brookside, and go to the city from that area.

If you look at the actual entrance/exit onto 2NC now, you can see that it clearly always planned on having an overpass there. It's just taken a few decades to get around to actually finishing the project.

[Freddypop]

Originally Posted by OliverD

I would take any timeframes with a grain of salt. Route 8, Welsford Bypass, and Hanwell Road reconstruction were all delayed, for example.

This one will likely stick. Completion is sked just before the next election

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by OliverD

I would take any timeframes with a grain of salt. Route 8, Welsford Bypass, and Hanwell Road reconstruction were all delayed, for example.

Originally Posted by Freddypop

This one will likely stick. Completion is sked just before the next election

Next Provincial Election is Fall 2018 so anytime Spring/Summer 2018 would work nicely for the current government. If you're going to see any infrastructure announcements and shovels in the ground before then (and hopefully to complete before the election) you'll be hearing about them this summer most likely.

[OliverD]

Originally Posted by Taeolas

IIRC there was some disappointment that they weren't going to be able to punch 2NC through to connect to Douglas at the same time.

I don't think that's really feasible. You'd be introducing a bunch of new traffic into a strictly residential neighborhood without any real benefit.

[OliverD]

Here's the new configuration for the Regent/Prospect intersection:

[Taeolas]

Damn, it's hard to tell from the scale and angle of that plan, if they are leaving the left turns to/from the Irving in place. From the Prospect side it sort've looks like they are still there, but the Regent side doesn't go down far enough to tell one way or another.

I really hope the left turns are eliminated.

I wonder if they might regret not trying to squeeze a 2 lane Left turn from Prospect onto Regent North; that leg is much more constrained width-wise, and has a longer feed so it may not be as needed as the other two directions.

I also wonder if the new Route-8 Bridge will have a sidewalk on both sides. Currently the East sidewalk ends at the hotel basically; might be nice to push it all the way down to the Corbett Centre.

[Franco401]

Originally Posted by Taeolas

Damn, it's hard to tell from the scale and angle of that plan, if they are leaving the left turns to/from the Irving in place. From the Prospect side it sort've looks like they are still there, but the Regent side doesn't go down far enough to tell one way or another.

The announcement said the turns would be eliminated. The Prospect side is hard to tell from this diagram because it's overlain with the existing intersection and there's a label in way, but Regent was the more dangerous one anyway.

[Franco401]

One thing I was hoping for but don't see in the plan is a divider on the last 400m of the Vanier. That small section is highly outdated and will still receive a new lane in this project, but I suppose the province might now have OK'ed it as that interchange new a complete overhaul anyway.

[OliverD]

The Chalmers hospital is getting a three-storey expansion and renovation. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunsw...-fredericton-expansion-1.3452378?cmp=rss

The provincial government has announced it's moving ahead with the expansion of the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital in Fredericton, after delaying the project in 2015.

The expansion was first announced by the previous PC government, but the Liberals did not provide any funding in their first year in office.

Now, they'll invest $2.5 million for design and engineering work on the expansion this year.

"It's needed here," said Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Stephen Horsman, making the announcement for the government. "Not only for the patients, but for the staff. And for recruitment of doctors and nurses coming here. It's a long time coming."

The expansion has been a priority for the Horizon Health Network, and president and CEO John McGarry was particularly concerned about the lack of funding for it last year.

"I'm really happy that I'm finally seeing a commitment to start this," said McGarry. "This year will be kind of a quiet year as we do the drawings behind the scene, but hopefully next year, that's when we start moving into the actual construction starting, over the course of the next four or five years."

The project will begin with the design and engineering phases, starting the multi-million dollar expansion.

The plans call for a three-storey addition to the hospital, plus major renovations.

The addition will include a new surgical suite; a recovery room; a day surgery unit; an intensive care unit; an ambulatory procedures unit; a gynecology, maternal and newborn unit; an instrument cleaning unit; a specimen collection unit; and clinical records.

[Bishop2047]

^^^

As someone who is in there often.... BOUT TIME. Look forward to renderings.

[balfozz]

Has anyone noticed or know what the new tower is for in the back corner of the ServiceMaster lot along highway 105? I am thinking it may be a new Fred E zone tower to strengthen service on the Northside?

[pat610]

Originally Posted by balfozz

Has anyone noticed or know what the new tower is for in the back corner of the ServiceMaster lot along highway 105? I am thinking it may be a new Fred E zone tower to strengthen service on the Northside?

I noticed that tower as well. Could it possibly be a Bell cell tower? I've got 5 bars of LTE when I drive by it. Not sure how strong my LTE was before that though.

[Blue Blazer]

Originally Posted by pat610

I noticed that tower as well. Could it possibly be a Bell cell tower? I've got 5 bars of LTE when I drive by it. Not sure how strong my LTE was before that though.

Actually its a fracking tower.