Route 11 twinning gets $180M in federal, provincial money

More than $180 million in federal and provincial money was announced Wednesday for the twinning part of Route 11 in eastern New Brunswick.

The project is set to start this summer and finish inthe fall of 2021, a provincial government news release said.

• Route 11 twinning remains a possibility despite low traffic

The work will involving twinning a 6.8-kilometre stretch between Shediac River and Cocagne River, along with 13.8 kilometres between CocagneRiver and Little Bouctouche River.

The federal government will contribute $84.5 million to the project,and the provincial government will contribute $99 million.

Route 11 has seen more traffic in recent years because of growth in the southeastern region of New Brunswick, the release said.

It cited Route 11 as a major trade and tourism corridor for the province.

Back in 2015, the Brian Gallant government said it would continue to consider twinning Route 11, despite reports at the time showing sections of the road didn't have enough traffic to warrant such an expansion.

Four-lane divided highways are safer than two-lane highways, and the province has made increased safety part of its argument for the work on Route 11,which runs fromShediactoCampbellton.