Highway 113 | Proposed

[dtown]

Sorry to bump up an old thread, but all the talk of the Bedford Sackville connector got me thinking of the other proposed highway in HRM. When I search for info on this, there appears to be a lot of articles and documents from 2010 including the provinces webpage for it which still appears to be active (https://novascotia.ca/nse/ea/highway113.asp) however I can't find anything since 2010. Does anyone know if this has been cancelled? Or if it is still on the back burner, unlikely to change for another 10-20 years.

[ns_kid]

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[OldDartmouthMark]

I haven't heard much about it. There's an update in this document from 2016 which doesn't sound very promising...

From page 5:

(d) Highway 113 Update
The Nova Scotia Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal (NSTIR) Highway 113 Environmental Assessment Report (2009) estimated that Highway 113 would be constructed within approximately 20 years (2029). The recent NSTIR 5- Year Highway Improvement Plan (2016-17 Edition) does not indicate any planned work on the proposed highway within the next five years. Recent discussions with NSTIR have indicated that the Highway 113 is a long term project with no work anticipated in the immediate future.

[MolteN]

Considering the rate we're building up Larry Uteck and West Bedford, and since they intend to keep the intended path clear. At the earliest we may see talks again in 2023-24 fiscal year. I wonder how worse Hammonds Plains Rd will get before District 13 starts screaming for the highway to be built? And with Mr. Whitman now announcing his candidacy for mayor, he may have a card to pitch for local votes.

[MolteN]

With the knowledge of today that city has bought the ROW for highway 113, and has now pretty much bought the bulk of what they aspire to make birch cove nature preservation. I see the potential to further develop west bedford and the hammonds plains road corridor to north, timberlea, beechville, hubley and bayers lake to the south. Great potential to have hundreds of thousands of people living close to a well developed and maintained nature reserve with trails etc.

[hoser111]

No mention of 113 in todays 5 year highway plan release. Nice to see the 103 twinning heading out to Chester, exit 8. Already partially twinned between 8 & 9..... heading to Bridgewater later on I'd expect.

https://novascotia.ca/tran/highways/...an-2023-24.pdf

[OldDartmouthMark]

I had assumed the 113 had been put on the backburner with all the opposition by the "friends of" people and (almost paradoxically) the city itself. IMHO it's a needed piece of infrastructure, given the growing population rates.

The twinning projects are needed for both safety and capacity reasons. It's good to see the province is recognizing that 1950's era traffic capacity is no longer adequate for the growth that these areas have seen and will continue to see.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

I had assumed the 113 had been put on the backburner with all the opposition by the "friends of" people and (almost paradoxically) the city itself. IMHO it's a needed piece of infrastructure, given the growing population rates.

The twinning projects are needed for both safety and capacity reasons. It's good to see the province is recognizing that 1950's era traffic capacity is no longer adequate for the growth that these areas have seen and will continue to see.

The 113 is most certainly needed but I don't find it paradoxical that HRM is against it. They do everything they can these days to create more traffic tie-ups instead of doing anything to fix them. I guess they expect people to cycle to DT from Upper Tantallon.

The twinning projects are mostly necessary. I would think a twinned 103 from Halifax to Bridgewater would make sense. Beyond Bridgewater probably not so much. Same with the 101 as far as Kentville, which is almost there now.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

The 113 is most certainly needed but I don't find it paradoxical that HRM is against it. They do everything they can these days to create more traffic tie-ups instead of doing anything to fix them. I guess they expect people to cycle to DT from Upper Tantallon.

The twinning projects are mostly necessary. I would think a twinned 103 from Halifax to Bridgewater would make sense. Beyond Bridgewater probably not so much. Same with the 101 as far as Kentville, which is almost there now.

Paradoxical in terms of what I think a city should be doing to improve conditions for its residents, but yes I agree that the city does tend to pander to fringe groups for 'image reasons'.

[Haliguy]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

The 113 is most certainly needed but I don't find it paradoxical that HRM is against it. They do everything they can these days to create more traffic tie-ups instead of doing anything to fix them. I guess they expect people to cycle to DT from Upper Tantallon.

The twinning projects are mostly necessary. I would think a twinned 103 from Halifax to Bridgewater would make sense. Beyond Bridgewater probably not so much. Same with the 101 as far as Kentville, which is almost there now.

Yeah I think the 101 to Exit 14 Coldbrook/Kentville and 103 to Bridgewater makes a lot of sense. I was surprised they didn't have the Horonville to Coldbrook listed in the list of twinning projects.

[someone123]

What is the status of 113 now? The province does not own the ROW? The municipality is a creature of the province and at the end of the day can take the land. Part of the picture is that 113 is not just about the city or that specific area. It improved connectivity and travel time on the provincial highway network and trips like Truro (and beyond to 95%+ of the country) -> South Shore.

A lot of the land preservation efforts rub me the wrong way. There are trade-offs and there should be a sense of balance, priorities, and what the cost-benefit is. In particular large-scale land preservation near the urban core is at odds with housing affordability, density, and transit serviceability.

Lately it just sounds like people want to preserve every lake and tree, and Halifax is surrounded by lakes and trees. You could build 113 and still preserve a roughly 5x5 km square of wilderness which is huge for an urban park. It like some people have lost or never had the notion that a city can be built in an environmentally sensitive way and it can be appealing to mix urbanism and nature. You can trash a natural area full of lakes by building crap, but you can also create beautiful places to live, and the most remote and empty environment is not necessarily the best environment. Scandinavia is a good place to look for sensitive development in waterfront and wetland areas. I think obstructionism is the wrong approach while trying to debate what sort of form development should take to balance its impact is the right approach. If you just fight over where the sprawl goes you will get a mess, but if you build good quality compact and full service developments you will minimize the environmental impact in the long run as the city grows.

[Patrick Matthews]

Given that the 107 being built now was initially supposed to go between First and Second lakes in Sackville, and did not, to the detriment of Beaverbank and many other areas, but to the benefit of the Sackville Lakes Provincial Park, I would not be surprised about anything that comes.

However, the well defined cut for the 113 seems to at least be mostly outside, or on the perimeter of this desired park reserve.

I too was hoping to see it, but with so many projects on the go the next 2 years, Im hoping we see it as a "project determined" in 2026 or so.

The twinning of the 107 between Burnside and Lake Look was a needed, but welcome surprise. The cut for the 107 between the end point of twinning and the intersection of the 107 and 7 is almost visible if you look hard enough. Hopefully that moves, and might be needed more than the 113.

[hoser111]

HRM planning activity around Blue Mountain/Birch Cove from only a year-ish ago certainly acknowledges the highway 113 corridor so it would appear to me that this is still in somewhere in the future, timeline TBD.

https://cdn.halifax.ca/sites/default...1207rc1516.pdf

[Patrick Matthews]

Originally Posted by hoser111

HRM planning activity around Blue Mountain/Birch Cove from only a year-ish ago certainly acknowledges the highway 113 corridor so it would appear to me that this is still in somewhere in the future, timeline TBD.

https://cdn.halifax.ca/sites/default...1207rc1516.pdf

I really hope the 113 and 102 interchange isnt accurate. Drives me nuts to see a design without a full interchange.

[kph06]

Originally Posted by Patrick Matthews

I really hope the 113 and 102 interchange isnt accurate. Drives me nuts to see a design without a full interchange.

There is a "half" interchange at the 103 too. It must be because there would be limited benefit as most movements to use it would include backtracking? I'm guessing there wold be some benefit to those nearest to the 102 at Larry Uteck, but probably not substantial enough savings considering the greater purpose is taking traffic off Hammonds Plains Road. The road geometries to support those movements would also require some large flyover structures and more land acquisition.

[Jor D]

hwy 113 should be actually the continuation of 102. the current part going towards halifax should be renamed 111 which would acknowledge the intent to connect 111 over the northwest arm and south tunnel. but this wouldnt happen for at least 60 years when halifax is pusshing 1.5 million

[Patrick Matthews]

Originally Posted by Jor D

hwy 113 should be actually the continuation of 102. the current part going towards halifax should be renamed 111 which would acknowledge the intent to connect 111 over the northwest arm and south tunnel. but this wouldnt happen for at least 60 years when halifax is pusshing 1.5 million

102 going to the 103 and the remainder of the 102 becoming 113 probably more likely/logical this century. But ill be happy if we can standardize exit numbers.

[Haliguy]

Originally Posted by Patrick Matthews

102 going to the 103 and the remainder of the 102 becoming 113 probably more likely/logical this century. But ill be happy if we can standardize exit numbers.

Yup, they need to change exit numbering to a linear referencing model.

[Empire]

Originally Posted by Haliguy

Yup, they need to change exit numbering to a linear referencing model.

The best example of the poor exit numbering strategy is
"EXIT 0" from Bi Hi to Joseph Howe.

Some of the poor exit numbering is the responsibility of the Province and some is HRM. Regardless, none of the exiting numbering is aligned with mainstrem systems elsewhere.

[Ozabald]

Originally Posted by Empire

The best example of the poor exit numbering strategy is
"EXIT 0" from Bi Hi to Joseph Howe.

Some of the poor exit numbering is the responsibility of the Province and some is HRM. Regardless, none of the exiting numbering is aligned with mainstrem systems elsewhere.

Agreed that NS should move exit numbers to distance-based rather than sequential. However, NS is not alone with sequential exit numbering. The New York Thruway uses sequential exit numbering; as does the New Jersey Turnpike. Believe Vermont and New Hampshire also use sequential numbering statewide.