FALMOUTH, N.S. — West Hants’ mayor isn’t mincing words when it comes to describing the state of Bog Road in Falmouth.
The six-kilometre stretch of road, connecting Falmouth to Hantsport, runs relatively parallel to Highway 101.
“Bog Road is a mess. It’s a horrible road,” said Abraham Zebian while attending West Hants Regional Municipality’s February committee of the whole meeting.
“It’s not even passable to call a road at this point anymore. It’s not on the five-year capital plan for TIR and I believe we need to address it before long.”
Zebian asked his fellow councillors to support writing a letter, every month, to the provincial Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal, the premier and Hants West MLA Chuck Porter citing their concerns.
It is anticipated this will return to council for approval at the Feb. 23 meeting.
Paul Maynard, Hantsport’s deputy fire chief, said a portion of Bog Road is covered by their station, and they respond to the remaining section via auto-aid protocols that are in place with Windsor Fire. He said they tend to avoid travelling on Bog Road unless the emergency is located there.
“We tend to avoid using the road because of the condition of the road, the age and weight restrictions on the one-way bridge,” said Maynard.
“If the emergency isn’t on the Bog Road itself, we normally use the 101 or Highway 1 to access the same areas in Falmouth,” he continued.
“The replacement of the bridge and resurfacing of the Bog Road would certainly help emergency services safely respond to calls in that area.”
In 2018, Joe Britten, who built his family home on Bog Road some 25 years prior, also reached out to the provincial government to try to get the road repaired. He noted at that time that it was in ‘deplorable condition” and he feared someone could get hurt.
In the summer of 2017, an impaired driver lost control of his vehicle while approaching the single-lane bridge, located at the Hantsport end of the road. The crash resulted in the death of a 22-year-old passenger as well as about $10,000 in damage to the bridge.
Steve Warburton, a communications adviser with TIR, said crews did conduct some road patching in 2020, and there are plans to replace the Halfway River bridge on Bog Road in 2022.
“Once the bridge is built, the road will be repaved,” Warburton said in an email.
“When the road work takes place, road surface rehabilitation along with drainage, signage and guardrail upgrades from Trunk 1 to the Hantsport town limits, near Rand Street, will take place,” he added.
