Mun. of Arygle concerned about Highway 103 intersections, exits

By Eric Bourque

THE VANGUARD

NovaNewsNow.com

The Municipality of Argyle again is expressing concern about safety on sections of Highway 103 – notably Exit 31, the highway’s Pubnico-area exit – and wants the province to look at the situation.

Municipal council members feel Exit 31 should have an overpass, given the high volume of traffic there and the dangerous conditions, particularly at times of reduced visibility.

The issue surfaced last Tuesday during the municipality’s regular monthly council meeting.

Many people can speak from first-hand experience about close calls at Exit 31, said Robert Amirault, Argyle’s deputy warden.

“Just about anybody who uses that intersection can tell you a story,” he said during last week’s council session.

While Exit 31 is of particular concern, the municipality also wants the province to look at other local areas of the 103 and consider how they perhaps could be made safer.

These include the exit near Nakile Home for Special Care and the highway intersection in the Belleville area.

The issue of Highway 103 and traffic safety is not new for the Municipality of Argyle.

During a council session last fall Exit 31 came up for discussion and a motion was made to contact the local office of the provincial transportation department about the matter.

The intent was to inform the department of the municipality’s concerns regarding the Pubnico-area and Nakile exits.

According to the municipality, a letter was sent, but the municipality has no record of a response from the transportation department.

The municipality intends to raise the issue with the province again, this time with letters to the local MLA, the minister and the Yarmouth office of the transportation department.

Argyle council’s discussion of Highway 103 concerns last fall came shortly before cabinet changes that resulted in the transportation portfolio going to Murray Scott.

The department was renamed from Transportation and Public Works to Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal.