The southwest coast of Newfoundland is the entry point to our province that witnesses the arrival and departure of thousands of vehicles on a weekly basis and it is absolutely ridiculous that this region will not be part of the 24-snow clearing pilot project, says Burgeo-Lapoile MHA Kelvin Parsons.

Yesterday, Transportation and Works Minister Dianne Whalen announced a 24-hour snow clearing pilot project to clear certain sections of highway during the coming winter season. The proposed plan will see snow clearing between Deer Lake and Cold Brook, yet nothing for the section of highway between Stephenville and Port aux Basques.

“The decision to exclude such a heavy traffic section of highway from this pilot project is ludicrous and reminds me of another ill-prepared announcement by Minister Dianne Whalen a few years ago when she closed the weigh scales in Port aux Basques,” said Mr. Parsons. “She is again treating the people of the southwest coast with disdain and as second-class citizens. We saw the problems that were created when she closed the weigh scales and we fought to have that decision reversed. We will fight again to fix this obvious wrong.

“All tractor trailer traffic coming into and out of this province goes through Port aux Basques. These people travel during the overnight hours and deserve to have safe and clear roads to travel. The many commuting workers from our area also fly into Deer Lake and Stephenville and are usually forced to drive our highways after midnight. How the minister can justify the decision to exclude these people from having safe roads to drive on is certainly incomprehensible.

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