Quispamsis talks access between Millennium Drive and Highway 1

The Town of Quispamsis is looking at adding an access point between the town and Highway 1.

Councillors were briefed on an early engineering review about ramps between Millennium Drive and the highway.

According to the report, any off-ramp from the westbound lanes of Highway 1 on to Millennium Drive can’t be built due to insufficient sight distances, exit speeds and space.

“An on-ramp onto Highway 1 is possible, provided it aligns with Cedar Ridge (Boulevard)” chief administrative officer Ian Watson said.

In previous discussions, council had suggested three locations for any kind of ramp: Cedar Ridge Boulevard, Hazelton Drive and Donlyn Drive.

The report stated that due to a provincial weigh station along Highway 1, only Cedar Ridge would have enough distance for an on-ramp.

Engineering and works director Gary Losier said some work would be required to make a ramp work.

“The intersection itself probably would be more suited to a roundabout than a controlled-stop intersection of just a signalized intersection,” Losier said.

Adding a ramp at Cedar Ridge could also lead to additional traffic coming up through the neighbourhood to get to the new highway access.

Losier said potential side-effects would have to be investigated.

Mayor Libby O’Hara said council should be cautious however they choose to move forward with this kind of project.

“They can become very costly financially and they can become very time-consuming for our staff who are already dedicated now to the work that we’ve budgeted for in 2026,” O’Hara said.

Coun. Emil Olsen, who raised the idea initially, said he’s seen a significant increase in traffic over the last year.

“We had a lot of growth in both Rothesay and Quispamsis and there’s a bottleneck going up Campbell Drive,” Olsen said.

“I thought that if we had means of egress further down Millennium Drive, it would reduce significantly the bottleneck.”

Council voted to direct staff to investigate further with the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure and to engage with the Town of Rothesay about the possibility of any cost-sharing with whatever project moves forward.