Halifax mayor wants to see more roadwork at night to ease traffic gridlock

Halifax Mayor Andy Fillmore wants more roadwork at night to ease traffic congestion.

Traffic was crawling along Oxford Street near Jubilee Street this morning as road paving crews worked to repave the busy commuter route connecting north and south end of Halifax.

Some drivers say they’ve learned to plan their routes around construction and the time of day but sometimes you just get stuck.

“I always try to book my appointments early in the morning because traffic is even worse in the afternoon commute,” said one driver who was held up in the gridlock. “But I think it would make more sense to have construction done at night than in the day anytime.”

Mayor Andy Fillmore vowed to tackle traffic congestion and during his election campaign made a promise to explore night time road construction to ease daytime traffic congestion.

“In my work I hear from people every single day about the nature of congestion and how bad it’s getting and I think it’s important at city hall that we do everything to bring congestion down,” said Fillmore.

There’s been no reports requested on night time road construction nor any formal talks with city planners or council about exploring it, but Fillmore says the solution is in the tendering process.

City hall needs to make it clear in construction tenders that the work needs to be done after business hours.

“We should be proactive about that and in the request for proposals for our road work we should require the work be done the evening and weekends,” said Fillmore. “At least in key corridors.”

Fillmore says the traffic congestion this summer, particularly in the urban core reached a crisis point.

“We need to do something differently,” said Fillmore, to avoid a repeat next year during construction season.

But Fillmore reiterates night construction is only part of the solution to easing traffic congestion.

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page