Nova Scotia Highway 104 - Route

Route

The highway's present alignment measures 322 kilometres (200 mi) long, of which the western 180 km (110 mi) between the inter-provincial border with New Brunswick through to Sutherlands River is a 4-lane divided freeway. The eastern 142 kilometres (88 mi) from Sutherlands River to St. Peters is presently a mixture of Super 2 2-lane controlled access freeway and uncontrolled access 2-lane highway and 4-lane divided freeway sections.

KM 0 to 48

From the inter-provincial border at Fort Lawrence, the highway runs east for 48 kilometres (30 mi) past the towns of Amherst and Oxford to Thomson Station. This section had been built in the 1960s as a Super 2 and was upgraded to a 4-lane divided freeway that opened in 1993. It currently has a posted speed limit of 110 kilometres per hour (68 mph).

KM 48 to 93

From Thomson Station the highway runs southeast for 45 kilometres (28 mi) to Masstown. This is a tolled section built as a 4-lane divided freeway and known as the Cobequid Pass which opened on 15 November 1997. It currently has a posted speed limit of 110 kilometres per hour (68 mph) throughout, except for a posted speed limit of 50 kilometres per hour (31 mph) between KM 72 and 73 at the toll booth.

Owned by Highway 104 Western Alignment Corporation, which was created by the provincial Highway 104 Western Alignment Act, this new alignment of highway was built with CAD $66 million in private financing (CIT Financial) and CAD $27.5 million from the Government of Nova Scotia and CAD $27.5 million from the Government of Canada. The private financing loan is being paid back through tolls collected at a toll booth located between KM 72 and 73 in Londonderry, Colchester County. Tolls for this section are currently (2012) established at $4 for cars and $3.50 per axle for commercial vehicles.

Prior to this new alignment, Highway 104 ran east from Thomson Station for 53 kilometres (33 mi) to Masstown on the present alignment of Trunk 4 through the Wentworth Valley. This 2-lane uncontrolled access section included climbing Folly Mountain and was nicknamed "The Valley of Death" due to an increasing number of accidents with a high fatality rate that were ocurring in the early to mid 1990s; it was political pressure resulting from these accidents that forced the cash-strapped provincial government to pursue toll financing for the realignment section known as the Cobequid Pass.

KM 93 to 180

From Masstown, the highway runs east and northeast for 87 kilometres (54 mi) past the towns of Truro, Westville, Stellarton and New Glasgow to Sutherlands River. This section is a 4-lane divided freeway and currently has a posted speed limit of 110 kilometres per hour (68 mph). It was upgraded in various stages as follows:

• KM 93 to 145, section from Masstown to Salt Springs had been built in the 1960s as a Super 2 and was upgraded to a 4-lane divided freeway that opened in the early 1990s.
• KM 145 to 160, section from Salt Springs to Westville Road was built as a new alignment of 4-lane divided freeway that opened in the late 1990s. Prior to this new alignment opening, Highway 104 ran east on the present alignment of Trunk 4.
• KM 160 to 167, section from Westville Road to Plymouth had been built in the 1960s as a Super 2 and was upgraded to a 4-lane divided freeway that opened in the early 1990s.
• KM 167 to 175, section from Plymouth to Pine Tree had been built in the 1960s as a Super 2 and was upgraded to a 4-lane divided freeway that opened in fall 2011.
• KM 175 to 180, section from Pine Tree to Sutherlands River had been built in the 1960s as an uncontrolled access highway (formerly Trunk 4) and was upgraded to a 4-lane divided freeway that opened in fall 2012.

KM 180 to 197

From the end of the 4-lane divided freeway section at Sutherlands River, the highway runs east for 17 kilometres (11 mi) to Barney's River Station. This section was built in the 1960s as a Super 2 and remains as a controlled access highway with dedicated passing lanes and has a posted speed limit of 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph).

KM 197 to 209

From the end of the Super 2 section at Barney's River Station, the highway runs southeast for 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) to James River. This section had been built in the 1960s as an uncontrolled access highway (formerly Trunk 4) and remains as an uncontrolled access highway with a posted speed limit of 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph).

KM 209 to 217

From the end of the uncontrolled access section at James River, the highway runs east for 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) to Addington Forks. This section was built in the 1960s as a Super 2 and remains as a controlled access highway with a posted speed limit of 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph).

KM 217 to 228

From the end of the Super 2 section at Addington Forks, the highway runs east for 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) to South River Road. This section was built as a new alignment of 4-lane divided freeway that opened on 19 September 2012 and currently has a posted speed limit of 110 kilometres per hour (68 mph). Prior to this new alignment opening, Highway 104 ran east on the present alignment of Trunk 4 and Post Road in the town of Antigonish and included three intersections controlled by traffic lights.

KM 228 to 235

From the end of the 4-lane divided freeway section at South River Road, the highway runs east for 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) to Dagger Woods. This section had been built in the 1960s as an uncontrolled access highway (formerly Trunk 4) and remains as an uncontrolled access highway with a posted speed limit of 60 kilometres per hour (37 mph) to 80 kilometres per hour (50 mph). A 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) alignment of 4-lane divided freeway is presently under construction that will bypass this uncontrolled access section with an estimated completion date in 2014.

KM 235 to 239

From the end of the uncontrolled access section at Dagger Woods, the highway runs east for 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) to Pomquet Forks. This section was built in the 1960s as a Super 2 and remains as a controlled access highway with a posted speed limit of 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph), although there are several at-grade intersections.

KM 239 to 242

From the end of the Super 2 section at Pomquet Forks, the highway runs east for 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) to Heatherton. This section had been built in the 1960s as an uncontrolled access highway (formerly Trunk 4) and remains as an uncontrolled access highway with a posted speed limit of 90 kilometres per hour (56 mph).

KM 242 to 271

From the end of the uncontrolled access section at Heatherton, the highway runs east for 29 kilometres (18 mi) to the western end of Auld's Cove. This section was built in the 1960s as a Super 2 and remains as a controlled access highway with a posted speed limit of 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph).

KM 271 to 274

From the end of the Super 2 section at the western end of Auld's Cove, the highway runs east for 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) to the western end of the Canso Causeway. This section had been built in the 1960s as an uncontrolled access highway (formerly Trunk 4) and remains as an uncontrolled access highway with a posted speed limit of 70 kilometres per hour (43 mph).

KM 274 to 276

From the end of the uncontrolled access section at the eastern end of Auld's Cove, the highway runs east for 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) across the Strait of Canso on the Canso Causeway to Port Hasting. This section was opened in 1955 as a controlled access highway and has a posted speed limit of 70 kilometres per hour (43 mph).

At Port Hastings, the speed limit drops to 70 kilometres per hour (43 mph) approaching a roundabout where the highway interchanges with Trunk 4, Trunk 19 and Highway 105. Highway 105 proceeds east carrying the Trans-Canada Highway designation.

KM 276 to 288

From the roundabout at Port Hastings, the highway is unsigned for 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) as it follows Trunk 4 through Port Hastings and the town of Port Hawkesbury. The posted speed limit is 50 kilometres per hour (31 mph) and includes multiple intersections controlled by traffic lights. The highway reappears at the Exit 43 interchange for Trunk 4 in Melville (just north of Port Hawkesbury).

A Highway 104 bypass from Port Hastings to Melville has been proposed in the past. Concept designs have shown a new alignment of 4-lane freeway being built around the northwest side of Port Hastings, crossing Highway 105 at a new interchange near an electrical substation. The new alignment of Highway 104 would proceed east and then southeast approximately following a power line corridor to the Exit 43 interchange in Melville.

KM 288 to 322

From the end of the uncontrolled access / unsigned section at Melville (just outside Port Hawkesbury), the highway runs east for 34 kilometres (21 mi) to its current eastern terminus at an at-grade interchange with Trunk 4 in River Tillard (near St. Peters. This section was built in the 1980s(?) as a Super 2 and remains as a controlled access highway with a posted speed limit of 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph).

KM 322 EAST

An extension of Highway 104 from River Tillard to Sydney River has been proposed in the past. The Nova Scotia provincial government has designated the entire length of Highway 104 from Fort Lawrence to River Tillard as a "strategic highway" to qualify for federal cost-sharing of maintenance and future upgrades. This designation has also been applied to the remaining Trunk 4 corridor in Cape Breton along the south shore of Bras d'Or Lake from St. Peters to Sydney River. It is eventually envisioned that the Trans-Canada Highway will follow the entire length of Highway 104 from Amherst to Sydney River as a 4-lane freeway, upgraded from the existing two-lane freeway and uncontrolled access sections of the highway.