Saint John, N.B., celebrates completion of realigned busy intersection

The long-awaited alignment of a Saint John intersection is now complete.

Travelling on Saint John’s east side will be a lot easier for drivers moving forward.

After months worth of construction, lane closures and detours, the City of Saint John has completed its Retail Drive Intersection Realignment Project.

“The previous intersection was one of the busiest and the most confusing in Saint John,” says Mayor Donna Reardon. “Drivers travel from Route 1 over here to the Eastpoint Shopping Centre up, they had to zig then zag, there was quick lane changes, a few difficult turns, all complicated by nearby train tracks and heavy commercial truck vehicles.”

Before the work, drivers coming off the highway eastbound onto Ashburn Lake Road need to turn left at a stop light, before having to turn right at another stop light in a matter of metres (while changing lanes) to get onto Retail Drive. The intersection would routinely see traffic back up as a result.

Retail Drive was moved over to align with Ashburn Lake Road, which now allows for traffic to move smoothly through a simple intersection. The work also included upgrades to the area’s underground services.

Reardon says this project was an investment into the city’s future.

“The new intersection provides safer, more efficient access to major retailers, restaurants and small businesses,” Reardon says. “It will reduce congestion, improve traffic flow, and support continued economic growth in one of our city’s most important commercial areas.”

The big question for the area is now what happens with the area that was previously Retail Drive. The space is currently a large vacant plot that has not seen any work since being refilled following the construction.

Saint John Public Works director Tim O’Reilly says the land is not owned by the city. O’Reilly says from his understanding while development is planned for the site in the future there are no current plans.

Other major road projects that have been or will be completed by year’s end in Saint John include the reconstruction of Main Street and the introduction of a roundabout along Sandy Point Road.

“There’s a lot of projects this year that we are pretty proud of,” says O’Reilly. “And there will be some plans for next year which was discussed as recently as last night.”

The entire project for Retail Drive cost $8.3 million, $2.3 million of which was provided by the province, while Ottawa chipped in $2.8 million. The remaining $3.2 million was paid for by the city.

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