Cobequid Pass
Creating two safe routes through the Wentworth Valley
 

•     45 kilometers between Masstown and Thomson Station
•     Twinned, four lanes
•     Wide median: 22.6 meters
•     110 km/hour speed limit
•     Five full interchanges
•     Six major bridges
•     Five large tunnels under the road for access to land parcels, snowmobile trails and wildlife passages
•     18 kilometers of access roads

Constructed by Atlantic Highways Corporation, a subsidiary of Canadian Highways International Corporation, in 20 months (A national industry publication called Cobequid Pass the fastest highway ever to be designed and constructed in Canada.)
The Highway 104 Corporation contracts the management of the toll plaza to Atlantic Highways Management Corporation Limited
Opened November 15, 1997

Industrial Benefits
Construction on the Cobequid Pass Toll Highway pumped millions of dollars into Nova Scotia's economy, most significantly for local communities in Colchester and Cumberland Counties.

During peak construction, more than 400 people were employed on the project in manufacturing, construction and technical sectors. Most of the people were from Colchester and Cumberland Counties while most others from outside the two counties were from Nova Scotia.

Subcontracts in engineering, design and construction were worth a total of $96 million, the majority of which went to regional firms. Third party suppliers received contracts worth $46 million.

Construction
The Highway 104 Western Alignment Corporation contracted with the successful bidder, Atlantic Highways Corporation (AHC) for the highway design and construction. AHC was a subsidiary of Canada Highways International Corporation (CHIC).

The major subcontractors employed by AHC were: Nova Construction and Tidewater Construction, The BFC Civil Company of Canada for structures, and SIRIT Corporation for the tolling system.

The operation of the tolling facility is contracted to Atlantic Highways Management Corporation Limited, then a subsidiary of AHC, and the annual maintenance is being provided under contract with the Nova Scotia Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal.

In a national industry publication, the Cobequid Pass project was called the fastest ever to be designed and constructed in this country. Given the highway's profile, that comment is significant:
 

•     Five full interchanges with grade separations
•     Six major bridges
•     22.6 meters wide median with 16 kilometers of guardrails
•     Five large tunnels under the road for access to land parcels, snowmobile trails and wildlife passages
•     Seven stream crossings with large concrete box culverts
•     Construction of 18 Kilometers of access road
•     Toll plaza with an automated transponder toll system for frequent users
•     4.7 million cubic meters of fill were moved within the site
•     Additional 0.52 million cubic meters of earth were borrowed for the project
•     0.90 million cubic meters of rock were blasted
•     347,000 tonnes of asphalt will be laid.

A series of silt ponds near Cumberland Brook is just one of the environmental measures taken on this project. Environmental concerns were at the forefront of discussions from the project's inception.

This project is one of the first in Nova Scotia to use steel arches in bridge construction. Equally as strong as conventional bridges, the steel arch provides significant cost savings.

Highway 104 Western Alignment Corporation