Nova Scotia Highway 102

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Nova Scotia Highway 102 Halifax Terminus
	Highway 102
	Bicentennial Drive; Veteran's Memorial Highway; Maintained by Nova Scotia Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal
Length:	100 km. (62 mi)
South end:	Windsor Street Halifax; 44°39′11.2″N 63°37′23.4″W / 44.653111°N 63.623167°W[1]
Major; junctions:	Hwy 101 in Bedford; Hwy 118 to Dartmouth
North end:	Hwy 104 (TCH) in Onslow45°23′24.5″N 63°19′29.1″W / 45.390139°N 63.32475°W
Counties:	Hants; Colchester
Rural municipalities:	Halifax Regional Municipality; East Hants
	Provincial highways in Nova Scotia
< Hwy 101	Hwy 103 >

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Highway 102 is a north-south freeway in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia that runs from Halifax to Onslow, near Truro. It is the busiest highway in Atlantic Canada.

In 2002 the highway was redesignated as Veteran's Memorial Highway while also maintaining its numerical designation.

[edit] Route description

The highway follows a 100 kilometre (62 mile) route through the central part of the province linking Highway 103, Highway 101, and Highway 118 to Highway 104, the Trans-Canada Highway. The entire highway is a divided 4-lane freeway, with the exception of a short 5-lane (3 lanes northbound) section between the Highway 118 interchange at Miller Lake and the Halifax International Airport at Enfield. This 3-lane northbound section is not a result of particularly high traffic volumes but rather it is a relic of the previous configuration of this section of Highway 102. Previously the section from Fall River to near Enfield was a three-lane undivided section, including a centre passing lane favouring northbound traffic. When the highway was twinned the three lanes were left in place for northbound traffic.

Portions of Highway 102 near Halifax pass through several micro climates and are notorious for frequent variations in visibility due to fog caused by elevation changes.

[edit] Development

The highway parallels the route of its predecessor, Trunk 2, and was developed in stages from the 1950s to the 1980s. Initially, some sections were controlled access 2-lane, as well as 4-lane. The route has also changed somewhat, particularly during the early 1980s when the last part to be constructed resulted in the bypass of Shubenacadie and Stewiacke through to Truro.

The initial speed limit on the highway was 100 km/h (60 mph) until this was raised to 110 km/h (70 mph) for the section north of the interchange with Highway 118. South of Highway 118, the highway retains its original 100 km/h speed limit.

From the 1970s to the early 1990s, Highway 102 was actively patrolled by the RCMP using aerial surveillance for speed limit violations. The aerial surveillance program was restarted in 2005.

The original portion of the highway from Bayers Road to Bedford dates to 1949, the bicentennial year of the founding of Halifax (1749); as such, it is the oldest section of controlled access highway in Atlantic Canada. This portion of the highway is officially named Bicentennial Drive, although many local residents incorrectly refer to it as the "Bicentennial Highway", often shortened to "Bi-Hi".

[edit] Future Development

The province of Nova Scotia and Halifax Regional Municipality have recently announced funding for a new interchange Highway 102 between Exits 2 (Kearney Lake Road) and 3 (Hammonds Plains Road). The intersection will be diamond-shaped and connect to a future extension of Larry Uteck Boulevard. Construction is expected to begin in 2009. Also between Kearney Lake Road and Hammonds Plains Road is the site for a proposed interchange with the future Highway 113 which is intended to be a connector from Highway 102 to Highway 103. Highway 113 is not yet budgeted and in addition some opposition has been mounted due to the route proposed.

[edit] Congestion

Traffic volumes on Highway 102 between Highway 101 and Bayers Road are in excess of 32,000 vehicles per day, and recent information claims capacity in this stretch is only at about 40%.^{[citation needed]} Many motorists still prefer using the older 2-lane Bedford Highway (Trunk 2), which in comparison has volumes of over 40,000 vpd and operates at 100% capacity through much of its length.

[edit] Access on the Halifax Peninsula

The 4-lane divided freeway portion of Highway 102 ends at Bayers Road in the west end of the city. Some streets on the Halifax Peninsula are signed with Highway 102 directional markers, with the word "INBOUND" marking a path from the end of the freeway section into the downtown core, and "OUTBOUND" marking the reverse path from the same terminus in the downtown core to the start of the freeway. These streets do not appear to be officially part of Highway 102.^{[citation needed]}

Highway 102 Outbound directional marker on Sackville Street in Halifax

Access with Highway 111 is provided on Connaught Avenue north from Bayers Road and the Windsor Street Exchange to the A. Murray MacKay Bridge.

[edit] Inbound

The "inbound" route markers are posted east on Bayers Road, south on Connaught Avenue, east on Quinpool Road, south on Bell Road, then east on Sackville Street to the intersection with Lower Water Street.

[edit] Outbound

The "outbound" markers are posted beginning north on Lower Water Street, west on Cogswell Street, west on Quinpool Road, north on Connaught Avenue, west on Bayers Road.

[edit] Communities served

Communities served along the highway include, from south to north:

[edit] Major Intersections(Halifax)

Connaught Avenue
Desmond Avenue
Hwy 103
Northwest Arm Dr / Dunbrack Street
Kearney Lake Road / Dunbrack Street
Hammonds Plains Road /Bedford Highway
Bedford Highway
Hwy 101
Glendale Avenue / Duke Street

[edit] Interchanges from South to North

Location	Exit Number	Kilometre Post*	Intersecting Roads
Halifax RM (Halifax)	0	0	Joseph Howe Drive
Halifax RM	1D	1	Northwest Arm Drive , Dunbrack Street
Halifax RM	1A	2	Highway 103 Lighthouse Route [2]
Halifax RM	2A	4	Lacewood Drive , Bayers Lake
Halifax RM	2	7	Kearney Lake Road
Halifax RM (Bedford)	(none)	11	Highway 113 (proposed freeway)
Halifax RM (Bedford)	3	12	Hammonds Plains Road (Route 213)
Halifax RM (Bedford)	4A/B	16	Highway 101 / Bedford Highway (Trunk 1/Evangeline Trail)(Lower Sackville)[3]
Halifax RM (Lower Sackville)	4C	17	Duke Street / Glendale Avenue
Halifax RM (Waverley)	5	24	Trunk 2 / Highway 118 (northbound)[4]
Halifax RM (Waverley)	5	25	Highway 118 (southbound only)[5]
Halifax RM	5A	31	Aerotech Drive (Route 212)[6]
Halifax RM	6	34	Halifax International Airport
Halifax RM (Enfield)	7	40	Trunk 2
Elmsdale	8	47	Route 214
Milford	9	57	Trunk 14 / Route 224 [7]
Shubenacadie	10	64	Route 215
Stewiacke	11	70	Trunk 2
Brookfield	12	84	Route 289
Millbrook First Nation	13A	93	Treaty Trail / Tower Road
Truro	13	95	Truro Heights Road
Truro	14	97	Trunk 2 South / Route 236 (Robie Street) Glooscap Trail
Onslow	14A	98	Trunk 2 North (northbound only) (Glooscap Trail)
Onslow	15W/15E	99	Highway 104