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Eddie Joyce, MHA for the District of Bay of Islands, says government has a
responsibility to provide safe highways and must take immediate action by
calling tenders this construction season to repair sections of the North
shore road in the Bay of Islands before a serious accident occurs. "The
Minister is well aware of the fact that there are a number of portions of
this road that are quite dangerous and must be fixed," said Joyce. "I have
written the Minister twice about a particular section of the highway near
McIver’s where road deterioration is making it unsafe for vehicles, school
buses, tourists and tractor trailers to travel to and from communities in
the Bay of Islands.
"This road has recently deteriorated and is a priority for local
officials within the Department of Transportation and Works who now say that
the road must be fixed as soon as possible. When government officials are
contacting me directly because they have been unable to get the attention of
the Minister and his officials in St. John’s to act, I feel there is a
serious problem. The Minister must start to listen to the people in the
various regions of the province who identify priorities and ensure that
funding is provided and tenders are called quickly."
The Liberal MHA stated that on a number of occasions the Department of
Transportation and Works and other government departments have used money
for other projects that are lower priorities. "Government provided $500,000
to fund the extension of a connector road from Massy Drive to the Lewin
Parkway in Corner Brook. This was not a priority of departmental officials
in the local office. Who will be responsible for this road once it is
completed, the town or the Department of Transportation and Works? There are
no safety concerns that require the building of this road. The only tender
advertised in the Western Star recently involved the paving of a section of
road to the Premier’s golf course in St. John’s using government funds. This
is unacceptable and the Minister must act before there are serious injuries.
"Government has an obligation to provide safe highways to the people of
this province and I am asking the Minister of Transportation and Works to
immediately allocate money to fix the North shore road before it is too late
to call tenders this year. In future, government must find a better way to
identify priorities and ensure that funding is not used for other projects
lower on the priority list."
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