Fatal accidents prompt call for road twinning

The mayor of Port Hawkesbury, N.S., is calling on the province to accelerate plans to twin what he calls a "scary" section of the Trans-Canada Highway.

Six people have died this month in accidents on a 10-kilometre stretch of Highway 104 between New Glasgow and the Canso causeway.

Billy Joe MacLean said those deaths highlight the need for improvements to the road.

"I think there is an obligation here," said MacLean. "We're going to be have more people killed, more accidents, more injuries."

Construction has been underway for years on a six-kilometre stretch of divided highway just outside New Glasgow. But between there and the Canso causeway remain 90 kilometres of single-lane, two-way traffic roads.

"I'm just saying to the government of Nova Scotia, if you thought you had people getting killed this year, there's more coming in 2011 and 2012. So please answer what we're asking for. Give us a date and time for completion," MacLean said.

Transportation Minister Bill Estabrooks could not be reached for comment Thursday.

But Antigonish NDP MLA Maurice Smith said the province is matching all federal funding for Highway 104 improvement and that work is progressing on schedule.

Smith said he is waiting tosee what caused the recent accidents. If the highway is at fault, he said he will work to have those problems corrected.