Atlantic Highways Thread

[Taeolas]

Frankly I'm shocked we didn't see Tolls in this budget in NB. They're such a nobrainer for funding, and for the most part, people seemed willing to accept them.

The only reason we aren't seeing Tolls I suspect is that their preferred Toll plan went over like a lead balloon, so they're trying to figure out how to get the most crony-boon out of the only sane tolling solution (Toll the highways at the provincial borders + the TCH around Salisbury)

[OliverD]

People were only accepting of tolls that didn't impact them.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by stephan.richard

Why can't it be done here in New Brunswick instead of raising taxes like the HST from 13 to 15% and us having better roads here... It just ticks me off... I would have preferred to pay the tolls on our highways here.

At least Nova Scotia does it right this time to finance highway projects. And has done so with the Cobequid pass.

There's absolutely no guarantee that the money the NB government raises from highway tolls goes into spending on highways and making them better. The only goals of the SPR that the government highlighted were that revenue generating mechanisms would go towards the deficit and debt. They also stated that it would be "too hard on NBers" to raise the HST and create highway tolls in the same budget.

We really need to quash this belief that this government will put revenues from highway tolls into improving highway maintenance. This government needs to balance its books first and foremost.

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Tolls are probably unavoidable in NB too. It's just that Brian Gallant is a coward and won't address the issue. Raising the HST is not enough to slay the deficit. Tolls and hospital/school closures are necessary too. The time to do it was this year (the second year of his mandate). Politically, next year will be too late as such a decision will then be too close to the next election and voters can remember at least a couple of years.

As such, road tolls in NB probably won't occur for another four years.

I'm guessing we get highway toll announcement in next years budget if this government is still motivated to fix the deficit and financial imbalance in this province. They're too nervous to close schools or hospitals and it's the next thing on the list for revenue from the government's perspective. If they bail on attempting to balance the budget then they've effectively blown the first two years of their mandate spinning around in circles.

Originally Posted by Taeolas

Frankly I'm shocked we didn't see Tolls in this budget in NB. They're such a nobrainer for funding, and for the most part, people seemed willing to accept them.

The only reason we aren't seeing Tolls I suspect is that their preferred Toll plan went over like a lead balloon, so they're trying to figure out how to get the most crony-boon out of the only sane tolling solution (Toll the highways at the provincial borders + the TCH around Salisbury)

They stated there was no consensus on a plan for the tolls and, along with adding the HST, couldn't implement both at the same time because of it. If they had more consensus and agreement on where to place the tolls i'm sure they would have considered it further.

Originally Posted by OliverD

People were only accepting of tolls that didn't impact them.

Absolutely. That's why the commuter tolls will never happen, or at least they shouldn't if the government knows what it's doing, which, as evidenced by this recent budget, it doesn't.

[Mattyyy]

Not sure where to put this but I suppose it involves highway infrastructure so this is most suitable. Received this email this morning from Tesla as I inquired when their supercharging network will appear in Atlantic Canada. Their 2016 plans show a charging station opening in the Houton - Woodstock area of the border which will complete a network straight up the 95 in Maine. The obvious next steps in 2014 would be to extend out to Halifax. If anybody is interested in seeing their future plans go to their website and click on Supercharger.

Thank you for your email. We do hope to expand the network into Eastern Canada and we are currently in the planning stages for our 2017 expansion. There are a number of scenarios that can affect the timeline for a new site but we are working hard to open as many sites as quickly as we can. We understand the need for more Superchargers and we are excited to announce new sites on our website.

We appreciate your patience, enthusiasm and support in Tesla and our Supercharger technology.

Telsa is introducing their new Model 3 tonight and are already taking preorders. They expect to be selling 500,000 annually by 2020. It is rumored it will go a minimum of 225 miles on a single charge but we will find out tonight! I'm undecided if I'm in for a preorder as at this point it is difficult to know where price ends up, and unfortunately there is currently no credit provided in NB for purchasing EVs - something I hope changes. Only 3 provinces have a credit available compared to every single US state.

[Sunnybrae]

Originally Posted by Mattyyy

Not sure where to put this but I suppose it involves highway infrastructure so this is most suitable. Received this email this morning from Tesla as I inquired when their supercharging network will appear in Atlantic Canada. Their 2016 plans show a charging station opening in the Houton - Woodstock area of the border which will complete a network straight up the 95 in Maine. The obvious next steps in 2014 would be to extend out to Halifax. If anybody is interested in seeing their future plans go to their website and click on Supercharger.



Telsa is introducing their new Model 3 tonight and are already taking preorders. They expect to be selling 500,000 annually by 2020. It is rumored it will go a minimum of 225 miles on a single charge but we will find out tonight! I'm undecided if I'm in for a preorder as at this point it is difficult to know where price ends up, and unfortunately there is currently no credit provided in NB for purchasing EVs - something I hope changes. Only 3 provinces have a credit available compared to every single US state.

Just curious Mattyyy, are the stations good for any EV or are they specific for each car manufacturer?

[Mattyyy]

Originally Posted by Sunnybrae

Just curious Mattyyy, are the stations good for any EV or are they specific for each car manufacturer?

Up now what happens when you buy a model S & X is that it comes with free charging for life at Tesla charging stations - so yes tesla charging stations are for Tesla's only.

With the release of the lower cost Model 3 - I'm not sure if this will also come with free charging or if you would have to pay for each charge.

[Taeolas]

Interesting info, but the question was more "Are the charging station connectors universal or are they unique to the manufacturer". (or at least that's the question I have now. )

Non-universal connectors are bad enough in the Cellphone/MP3/Tablet market; having to come up with adapters for the car market will be a nightmare.

[Mattyyy]

Originally Posted by Taeolas

Interesting info, but the question was more "Are the charging station connectors universal or are they unique to the manufacturer". (or at least that's the question I have now. )

Non-universal connectors are bad enough in the Cellphone/MP3/Tablet market; having to come up with adapters for the car market will be a nightmare.

That's a great question. Elon Musk has opened up their charging technologies to avoid having each EV producer come up with their own technology - this of course would be very bad for the industry. Musk knows that opening up their technology and having everybody adapt it is that this is actually good for business. Here is a link to an article you might find interesting.

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/1...ric-car-makers

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Taeolas

Interesting info, but the question was more "Are the charging station connectors universal or are they unique to the manufacturer". (or at least that's the question I have now. )

Non-universal connectors are bad enough in the Cellphone/MP3/Tablet market; having to come up with adapters for the car market will be a nightmare.

I saw a Tesla at Fundy Park last year. It had Quebec plates, so it must have been able to recharge at a standard outlet somewhere along the way.......

Very cool looking vehicles BTW.

[Ire Narissis]

I just saw a black one on Route 7 on my way home yesterday, and a couple months ago I saw one on Nerepis Road. Same one maybe? Not sure who around the Westfield area would have one...

[OliverD]

There's definitely a few in NB.

[stephan.richard]

I would gladly trade in my gas Mazda 3 after Tesla Irons out the first year glitches of the 3 and I hope they will add some charging stations nearly everywhere in the province to make it worth while.

[Mattyyy]

I'm not really sure which thread to post this in as it will likely deal with multiple infrastructure projects - such as highways and water treatment - however it was reported in the Telegraph Journal this morning that a multi-million dollar infrastructure deal between NB and Ottawa is imminent with major announcements beginning next week. An obvious project will be a major overhaul to route 11. Any guess on other projects? Any chance a causeway replacement may be on the list?

[Patapouf26]

Originally Posted by Mattyyy

I'm not really sure which thread to post this in as it will likely deal with multiple infrastructure projects - such as highways and water treatment - however it was reported in the Telegraph Journal this morning that a multi-million dollar infrastructure deal between NB and Ottawa is imminent with major announcements beginning next week. An obvious project will be a major overhaul to route 11. Any guess on other projects? Any chance a causeway replacement may be on the list?

Is it for a single project? Both that you mentioned are possibilities, but hasn't H11/H15 project been announced already? If it's one announcement for multiple projects, I can definitely see the expansion of the Harisville/Dieppe Blvd overpass...

[Scarface]

Originally Posted by Mattyyy

I'm not really sure which thread to post this in as it will likely deal with multiple infrastructure projects - such as highways and water treatment - however it was reported in the Telegraph Journal this morning that a multi-million dollar infrastructure deal between NB and Ottawa is imminent with major announcements beginning next week. An obvious project will be a major overhaul to route 11. Any guess on other projects? Any chance a causeway replacement may be on the list?

There where talks about route 11 splitting, and expanding farther then what was first announced but seems to have gone quiet. there was also talks that people would like to see Route 7 Between SJ, and Fredy. Since it does not seem to many major projects have happen in a while, and with the amount of money other provinces I do hope we get the money for the projects that need to be done.

[pierremoncton]

Could this be related? There's a joint provincial-federal announcement in Caraquet today with respect to the Naval Centre.

http://ici.radio-canada.ca/regions/a...runswick.shtml

[Franco401]

Originally Posted by Scarface

There where talks about route 11 splitting, and expanding farther then what was first announced but seems to have gone quiet. there was also talks that people would like to see Route 7 Between SJ, and Fredy. Since it does not seem to many major projects have happen in a while, and with the amount of money other provinces I do hope we get the money for the projects that need to be done.

Route 11 is happening. The funding is already there, it's just happening is phases. Phase 1 (The interchange in Shediac) is already underway, work crews have been there since last year.

[Ire Narissis]

Originally Posted by Scarface

There where talks about route 11 splitting, and expanding farther then what was first announced but seems to have gone quiet. there was also talks that people would like to see Route 7 Between SJ, and Fredy. Since it does not seem to many major projects have happen in a while, and with the amount of money other provinces I do hope we get the money for the projects that need to be done.

Route 7 is in dire need of a good deal of resurfacing. I was pretty floored that they "patched" the stretch between the Grand Bay exit and the limit of last year's resurfacing; that was actually worse than the section they resurfaced and is well beyond the point where patching is a sufficient fix.

Personally, I'd like to see the "gap" between the Grand Bay exit and the Welsford bypass twinned, since the bypass is already mostly twinned with a concrete median. That would create a twinned length from Route 1 interchange all the way to the other side of Welsford. In the process, they could resurface all the old asphalt along the route.

I don't really think twinning the entire length of Route 7 is necessary at this point in time, since it has relatively low traffic volume and a lot of passing lanes. But at least getting the stretch through Welsford done would be nice.

[Scarface]

Originally Posted by Franco401

Route 11 is happening. The funding is already there, it's just happening is phases. Phase 1 (The interchange in Shediac) is already underway, work crews have been there since last year.

Should have made myself more clear I do apologize. I meant to say that instead of Twinning route 11 in parts they would do a full twinning from end to end in one full shot.

Originally Posted by Ire Narissis

Route 7 is in dire need of a good deal of resurfacing. I was pretty floored that they "patched" the stretch between the Grand Bay exit and the limit of last year's resurfacing; that was actually worse than the section they resurfaced and is well beyond the point where patching is a sufficient fix.

Personally, I'd like to see the "gap" between the Grand Bay exit and the Welsford bypass twinned, since the bypass is already mostly twinned with a concrete median. That would create a twinned length from Route 1 interchange all the way to the other side of Welsford. In the process, they could resurface all the old asphalt along the route.

I don't really think twinning the entire length of Route 7 is necessary at this point in time, since it has relatively low traffic volume and a lot of passing lanes. But at least getting the stretch through Welsford done would be nice.

Even if they don't twin route 7 I'd still like to see them resurface the entire highway possibly even widen from where it turns from divided highway a little ways before exit 90 up to exit 71 where the route turns back to a divided highway.

[Mattyyy]

Originally Posted by Scarface

Should have made myself more clear I do apologize. I meant to say that instead of Twinning route 11 in parts they would do a full twinning from end to end in one full shot.



Even if they don't twin route 7 I'd still like to see them resurface the entire highway possibly even widen from where it turns from divided highway a little ways before exit 90 up to exit 71 where the route turns back to a divided highway.

When route 11 was originally announced it was to be a full twinning from Shediac to Miramichi. That plan was scaled back and instead it was supposed to be twinned from Shediac to Richibucto - an additional 57 km. The remaining distrance to Miramichi was to be upgraded. The Gallant government somewhat changed their stance on this and said no firm decisions have been made and a full twinning could still be on the table and that they were working with Ottawa on funding.

The infrastructure dollars to be announced (potentially next week) will be for route 11 - but the question remains will it be a full twinning or a partial? There may be some funds for the Fredericton to Saint John highway, but certainly not in this round of funding nor will it receive any major upgrades prior to route 11 - it just isn't as high on the priority list.