The Government of Nova Scotia had studied the cost of twinning the 100-series highway network, a total of just over 300 kilometres of highway. An initial report suggested that the cost would be close to $2 billion, a number that forced the province to explore alternative funding mechanisms for the project. Following a resounding rejection by the public of a recommendation to toll sections of the highway to pay for the cost of the project, the province instead decided to move forward with four smaller projects:
• Highway 101, Three Mile Plains to Falmouth, including the Windsor Causeway, 9.5 kilometres;
• Highway 103, Tantallon to Hubbards, 22 kilometres;
• Highway 104, Sutherlands River to Antigonish, including Barneys River, 38 kilometres; and
• Construction of the four-lane, divided Burnside Connector (Highway 107) between Burnside to Bedford, 8.7 kilometres.
In July of 2018, the federal and provincial governments announced a combined investment of $195 million towards the Highway 104 project. Construction of that section is to begin in early 2020 and be completed sometime in 2024.
