Dangerous ruts to be fixed on Cape Breton's Highway 125, but only for 10-km stretch

Tom Ayers · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 12, 2025 5:03 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

A program to repave a 10-kilometre stretch of Cape Breton highway falls abbreviated of what a retired Public Works worker said is needed to hole unsafe ruts that person been blamed successful the past for crashes.

Danny Laffin said helium tried to get the state to hole the ruts connected Highway 125 a fewer years ago, but they came back. He blamed the occupation connected a microcoating material utilized to capable successful the grooves.

"I judge it was conscionable a short-term solution, a Band-Aid implicit the problem, wherever the section needs to look astatine possibly a antithetic benignant of material," he said. "Every 3 oregon 4 years going backmost retired determination to effort and hole the occupation isn't a solution."

Local unpaid occurrence chiefs person antecedently said the ruts were factors in crashes involving injuries and deaths. The occupation is made worse erstwhile it rains because the ruts capable with h2o and origin hydroplaning. Drivers often determination implicit to debar driving successful the grooves.

Laffin said measurements amusement the ruts are caused by rider vehicles and not ample road trucks, and helium believes the existent occupation is studded tires wearing distant astatine the roadworthy surface.

"I truly deliberation they request to look astatine it sooner alternatively than later," Laffin said. "I judge it's a elemental hole and I judge that radical that usage that road merit to thrust connected a safer road than what they're driving connected today."

Laffin retired from the Public Works Department past autumn not agelong after he ran unsuccessfully against Fred Tilley in the provincial election. Tilley won the spot in Northside-Westmount for the Progressive Conservatives and is present curate of nationalist works.

His riding includes Highway 125 betwixt Sydney Mines and Sydney River.

This week, Tilley announced plans to repave a 10-kilometre agelong of that roadworthy successful his riding aboriginal this summer, contempt the enactment not being listed successful the recently released five-year highways plan.

"This is simply a longstanding contented present that needs to beryllium addressed, and of people we privation to code that and it's clip to get that done," helium said.

"One happening that I would impulse the motoring nationalist is to beryllium cautious erstwhile you're driving successful that country conscionable to effort and debar those ruts if possible. There's ever issues with highways and that's wherefore we're urging folks to beryllium cautious erstwhile they thrust that stretch."

Tilley said the section utilized a microseal worldly connected immoderate ruts 4 years ago, but engineers are doing "a large job" of studying the occupation and person decided to region each of the pavement and regenerate it.

"We're assured that the paving that's done this summertime volition hole that issue," helium said.

Tilley said ruts tin beryllium caused by a fig of factors, including the paving materials, the magnitude and value of traffic, and studded tires.

He couldn't accidental however the state would forestall the ruts from reoccurring and said helium did not person immoderate circumstantial program to hole the ruts elsewhere connected Highway 125 oregon connected different highways crossed the province.

In 2020, portion inactive with Public Works, Laffin got successful occupation with his leader aft penning a missive to the exertion of a paper expressing interest for his daughter, who was utilizing the road to get to the assemblage college.

Laffin said helium felt astatine the clip helium had a work to alert the nationalist careless of repercussions astatine work.

"I did the close happening and I'd bash it again," helium said. "The authorities tin bash amended erstwhile it comes to that conception of highway."