As the provincial election edges closer, Saint John wants to see action on its notorious Simms Corner intersection.

Tim O’Reilly, Saint John’s director of public works, said improvements are needed since truck and rail traffic are projected to increase in the coming years due to planned expansions to the Irving Pulp and Paper Mill, Lancaster Logistics Park and Port of Saint John.

“It’s one of two east to west connections for the city of Saint John, the other being in the Harbour Bridge. So it’s very critical in terms of that connection,” O’Reilly said.

Simms Corner is a four-way intersection with two stop signs, turn limitations in three lanes and one lane where drivers can’t go straight, giving even the most experienced drivers pause if they are passing through it for the first time. One of the streets is also a one-way.

“If you look at all the active transportation modes, including vehicles, almost everybody needs to go through that intersection to get east and west through the city,” O’Reilly said.

Tim O’Reilly, director of public works and transportation, says improvements are needed with projected traffic increases in the coming years. (Roger Cosman/CBC)

But because the area is part of the provincial-municipal Route 100 highway and has provincially regulated rail crossings running through the area, any plans for improvements are complicated.

“So the province of New Brunswick needs to be at the table,” O’Reilly said.

“But all the other partners involved in the industrial growth in the area need to be at the table too, in terms of advocating, potentially funding the project to make it happen.”

WATCH | Deputy mayor says truck traffic in the area will become bigger issue as industry expands:

The city released a position paper in early September with priorities it is looking for provincial alignment on. The paper says the planned expansions and traffic increases could route trucks to use residential roads and hurt the city’s industrial development.

“So we are opening the book again, so to say, on the design for Simms Corner with other partners, but we have to deal with the rail on top of the other issues.”

O’Reilly said the project would cost around $10 million for traffic lights or a roundabout. But with factors such as the rail crossing, he said the price would likely be higher.

He has previously said that roundabouts are cost-effective methods for traffic control and easier to maintain over time than traffic intersections since they don’t have electronics, such as traffic lights.

Greens voice support

Provincial party leaders spoke to the city’s wish list for the next government in early September.

Green Party Leader David Coon said the intersection is the most counterproductive in the province and he wants to see it fixed.

Progressive Conservative leader Blaine Higgs said he wants to improve transportation but did not declare outright support.

“We want to look at infrastructure priorities as they shift with greater demands, and if it makes sense to move one up the list, that we do it together, because every municipality has a certain amount of money that comes in for road improvements,” he said.

Holt said she didn’t want to make promises without having more clarity on costs. She, like O’Reilly, said the project would need many players at the table before making commitments.

John Mackenzie, Saint John’s deputy mayor, says it’s important progress is made on the intersection soon or the city will see more traffic, longer delays and likely more accidents. (Graham Thompson/CBC)

John MacKenzie, the city’s deputy mayor, says with expansions on the horizon it’s important changes happen.

“If we don’t do something with it soon we’re going to have all kinds of traffic accidents, more than what we have now. We’re going to have longer delays,” he said.

“There’s going to be more incidents where first responders can’t get through and delays in getting people to work at home and to the hospital and all kinds of ripple effects from not doing it. So it’s something that we have to have to get done.”

A decade-old issue 

Attempts to improve the intersection can be found as far back as 2007, when a report evaluated a number of redesign options, a multi-lane roundabout being one of them. The report ultimately declared a roundabout would be unfeasible, according to a 2020 city report on its roundabout strategy.

In 2011, the city called for a commitment from the province’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure to rebuild the intersection, as it is doing now.

The topic was brought up again the next year but was backpedaled in 2013 because of funding hurdles.

The city has made numerous efforts over a decade to improve the confusing intersection. With elections on the horizon the city wants it prioritized by the next government. (Roger Cosman/CBC)

The intersection was still in the city’s long-term plan in 2018. As of last year, it was one of six roads where the city wants to install a roundabout.

However, the $550 000 budgeted for a roundabout in one of those locations wouldn’t cover such a large project.

The city said in a statement it flagged the project as high priority with the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure and will continue to advocate for funding in future budgets.