Motorists petition New Brunswick government to repair Route 630

CTV Atlantic: N.B. motorists fed up with Route 630

Motorists fed up with the dangerous conditions of New Brunswick’s Route 630 have started a petition in the hopes of getting it fixed.

More than 500 people have signed the petition.

“If you don't care anything about your vehicle, sure, go for it, but I'll tell you, you're taking an awful chance because the moose can come out in front of you, you can't get stopped or you hit a hole,” says McAdam resident Darlene Daye.

“There's a lot of holes down there, you hit that, you're going for a little ride,”

Route 630 runs from the village of McAdam south toward St. Stephen. Area residents have used florescent paint to highlight some of the larger holes on the street, which are plentiful over an almost 20-kilometre stretch.

“I have to spend a lot of time on the wrong side of the road, which, because of the curves and the hills and stuff like that, I could get taken out by a, there’s a lot of big transport trucks come down that road, so I could get taken out easy,” says McAdam resident Vicki MacKay.

Along with deteriorating asphalt and crumbling patch work, trees and brush have crept to within centimetres of the road, which can make it difficult to see large animals like moose and deer.

“It's like they fall out of the sky,” says McAdam resident Loretta Curtis. “You're driving around a corner and it's there, you don't have a choice, like he's coming out of the ditch, he's just, he lands there on all fours."

In contrast, the better travelled Route 4 between McAdam and Fredericton has a decent surface and a treeline at least 15 metres back from the road.

Despite complaints, the province’s transportation minister says Route 630 is not a priority.

“We are not in a position to pave every road in New Brunswick, we don't have that fiscal, it's not the reality, so we will have to look at Route 630 to provide the maintenance this year," says New Brunswick Transportation minister Claude Williams.

Motorists hope the petition might change the minister’s mind.