Nova Scotia Highway 102

Highway 102 shield

Highway 102
Veterans Memorial Highway (Fall River to Truro)
Bicentennial Drive (exit 0 to exit 5)
Route information
Maintained by Nova Scotia Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal
Length: 102 km[1] (63 mi)
Major junctions
South end: Bayers Road Halifax
44°39′11.2″N 63°37′23.4″W / 44.653111°N 63.623167°W / 44.653111; -63.623167 (Nova Scotia Highway 102 Halifax Terminus)
  Hwy 101 in Bedford
Hwy 118 to Dartmouth
North end: Hwy 104 (TCH) in Onslow 45°23′24.5″N 63°19′29.1″W / 45.390139°N 63.324750°W / 45.390139; -63.324750 (Nova Scotia Highway 102 Onslow HWY 104 Terminus)
Location
Counties: Hants, Colchester, Halifax Regional Municipality, East Hants
Highway system

Provincial highways in Nova Scotia

Hwy 101Hwy 103

Highway 102 is a north-south highway in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia that runs from Halifax to Onslow, immediately north of the town of Truro. It is the busiest highway in Atlantic Canada.

In 2000, the section of Highway 102 between Fall River and Truro was redesignated as Veterans Memorial Highway. Between Fall River and Halifax it is known as Bicentennial Drive or the Bicentennial Highway. The numerical designation for both sections is 102.

Route description

The highway follows a 102-kilometre (63 mi) route through the central part of the province linking Highway 103, Highway 101, and Highway 118 to Highway 104, the Trans-Canada Highway.

The entire highway is a divided four-lane freeway, with the exception of a five-lane (three lanes northbound) section between the Highway 118 interchange at Miller Lake and a point between exits 6 and 7 near the Halifax International Airport at Enfield. This three-lane northbound section is not a result of particularly high traffic volumes; rather, it is a relic of the previous configuration of this section of Highway 102. Previously, the section from Fall River to near Enfield was a three-lane undivided section, including a centre passing lane favouring northbound traffic. When the highway was twinned, the three lanes were left in place for northbound traffic. Portions of Highway 102 south of the Halifax International Airport pass through several microclimates and are notorious for frequent variations in visibility due to fog caused by elevation changes.

Development

The highway parallels the route of its predecessor, Trunk 2, and was developed in stages from the 1950s to the 1970s. Initially, some sections were controlled access two-lane, as well as four-lane. The route has also changed somewhat, particularly during the mid-1970s when the last part to be constructed resulted in the bypass of Shubenacadie and Stewiacke.

The initial speed limit on the highway was 100 km/h (60 mph) until 1997, when it was raised to 110 km/h (70 mph) for the section between the interchange with Highway 118 (approximately km 26) and exit 13A at Millbrook (approximately km 92). South of Highway 118 and north of Millbrook, the highway retains its original 100 km/h speed limit.

From the 1970s to the early 1990s, Highway 102 was actively patrolled by the RCMP using aerial surveillance for speed limit violations. The aerial surveillance program was restarted in 2005.

The original portion of the highway from Bayers Road to Fall River was opened in October 1958, the bicentennial year of the First General Assembly of Nova Scotia (1758); as such, it is the oldest section of controlled access highway in Atlantic Canada. This portion of the highway was officially named Bicentennial Drive, but it has become known as the "Bicentennial Highway", often shortened to "Bi-Hi", even in official documents.

Future development

Highway 102 near Halifax was the subject of a 2009 study called Highway 102 Corridor Study which examined the performance of the existing highway and projected which upgrades will be required in the future.

The proposed Highway 113 would create a new interchange between Larry Uteck Boulevard (Exit 2B) and Hammonds Plains Road (Exit 3). Highway 113 is intended to be a connector from Highway 102 to Highway 103, serving as a bypass to the heavily traveled Hammonds Plains Road (Route 213). Highway 113 is not yet budgeted and in addition some opposition has been mounted due to the route proposed.

Interchange for Larry Uteck Boulevard

A new interchange at Larry Uteck Boulevard (designated Exit 2B) was opened in 2010 between Exits 2 (Kearney Lake Road) and 3 (Hammonds Plains Road). Future plans are in place to also connect the west side of the interchange to Kearney Lake Road.

This is the first major interchange to be built on Highway 102 since the mid-1990s and is intended to serve the rapidly growing community of Bedford South and the future area of Bedford West. The interchange is based on the traditional diamond layout but uses roundabouts instead of signalized intersections at the ramps for increased safety and capacity.

As part of this project, Larry Uteck Boulevard was extended to the new interchange and now provides a direct connection between Highway 102 and Bedford Highway, serving new residential retail areas.

Congestion

Traffic volumes on Highway 102 between Highway 101 and Bayers Road vary between 40,000 and 53,000 vehicles per day. Many motorists still prefer using the older 2-lane Bedford Highway (Trunk 2), which in comparison has volumes between 18,000 and 25,000 vpd and operates at or near 100% capacity through much of its length during peak periods.

Access on the Halifax Peninsula

The 4-lane divided freeway portion of Highway 102 ends at Bayers Road in the west end of the Halifax Peninsula. Some streets on the Halifax Peninsula are signed with Highway 102 directional markers, with the word "INBOUND" marking a path from the end of the freeway section into the downtown core, and "OUTBOUND" marking the reverse path from the same terminus in the downtown core to the start of the freeway. These streets do not appear to be officially part of Highway 102.[2]

Highway 102 Outbound directional marker on Sackville Street in Halifax

Access between Highway 111 and Highway 102 is provided via Connaught Avenue north from Bayers Road and the Windsor Street Exchange to the A. Murray MacKay Bridge. This is not an officially signed route and uses municipal streets to facilitate the connection.

Inbound

The "inbound" route markers are posted east on Bayers Road, south on Connaught Avenue, east on Quinpool Road, south on Bell Road, then east on Sackville Street to the intersection with Lower Water Street.

Outbound

The "outbound" markers are posted beginning north on Lower Water Street, west on Cogswell Street, west on Quinpool Road, north on Connaught Avenue, west on Bayers Road.

Communities served

Communities served along the highway include, from south to north:

Interchanges from south to north

Location Exit Number Kilometre Post* Intersecting Roads
Halifax RM (Halifax) 0 0 Joseph Howe Drive
Halifax RM 1D 1 Northwest Arm Drive, Dunbrack Street
Halifax RM 1A 2 Hwy 103
Lighthouse Route
Halifax RM 2A 4 Lacewood Drive, Bayers Lake
Halifax RM (Halifax) 2 7 Kearney Lake Road
Halifax RM (Halifax) 2B 10 Larry Uteck Boulevard
Halifax RM (Bedford) 3C 11 Hwy 113 (proposed freeway)
Halifax RM (Bedford) 3 12 Hammonds Plains Road ( Route 213)
Halifax RM (Bedford) 4A/B 16 Hwy 101 / Bedford Highway
(Trunk 1/Evangeline Trail) (Lower Sackville)
Halifax RM (Lower Sackville/Bedford) 4C 17 Duke Street / Glendale Avenue
Halifax RM (Fall River) 5 24 Trunk 2 / Hwy 118 (northbound)
Halifax RM (Fall River) 5 25 Hwy 118 (southbound only)
Halifax RM 5A 31 Aerotech Drive ( Route 212)
Halifax RM 6 34 Halifax Stanfield International Airport
Halifax RM (Enfield) 7 40 Trunk 2
Elmsdale 8 47 Route 214
Milford 9 57 Trunk 14 / Route 224
Shubenacadie 10 64 Route 215
Stewiacke 11 70 Trunk 2
Brookfield 12 84 Route 289
Millbrook First Nation 13A 93 Treaty Trail / Tower Road
Truro 13 95 Truro Heights Road
Truro 14 97 Trunk 2 South / Route 236 (Robie Street)
Glooscap Trail
Onslow 14A 98 Trunk 2 North (northbound only) (Glooscap Trail)
Onslow 15W/15E 100 Hwy 104 (TCH)

Notes

  1. Nova Scotia Street and Road Atlas ISBN 1-55109-563-7 Page 39W3"
  2. (September 14, 2010). UK 2 Nova Scotia. Retrieved September 14, 2010

References

Route map: Bing / Google

KML is from Wikidata
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