Rothesay Town Hall. Image: Staff photo
Councillors in Rothesay are fed up with the state of a provincially-designated highway running through the town.
Rothesay Road is in “deplorable” shape, according to Mayor Nancy Grant, especially from the Riverside Country Club to Fox Farm Road.
Grant said repeated attempts to get designated highway funding from the province to help with repairs have been unsuccessful.
“We’ve asked several times for help resurfacing this road, going back to 2016, and we have been refused funding for that every time,” Grant said during Monday’s council meeting.
In fact, Grant said, the town received no funding from the province for any of its designated highways last year.
Deputy Mayor Matt Alexander said it is “ridiculous” how many warning signs currently line Rothesay Road.
According to town staff, eight “hazard” signs have been placed to warn drivers about the state of the busy road.
“The road is in such poor shape that it’s almost to the point where we need to put a sign right at the golf course and one at the entrance to Rothesay that just says ‘bumps ahead for the next four kilometres,'” said Alexander.
“The government has indicated, for a second time in a row, they have a huge surplus, so they have money in the coffers that they should be putting back into the communities that they serve.”
The town is asking for designated highway funding again this year, and council recently sent a letter to Rothesay MLA Ted Flemming for help.
Rothesay’s latest proposal involves upgrades between Appleby Drive and Fox Farm Road in 2022, between East Riverside Kingshurst Park and Appleby Drive in 2023, and between Fox Farm Road and the Saint John city limits in 2024.
“Rothesay Council is seeking your assistance in obtaining funding through the Municipal Designated Highway Funding Program to begin work on this provincial asset before costs increase as the roadway continues to deteriorate,” said the letter, signed by Mayor Nancy Grant and dated Feb. 17.
Coun. Tiffany Mackay French encouraged residents to contact the transportation and infrastructure minister and Flemming with their complaints.
“Hopefully we get some funding to fix this section of the road,” said Mackay French.
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