Nova Scotia Public Works Minister and Queens MLA Kim Masland announces cell service upgrades on Wednesday in Greenfield with Service Nova Scotia Minister Colton LeBlanc. (Rick Conrad)

It’s going to take a couple of years, but residents of Greenfield are finally getting cell service.

The Nova Scotia government is building 27 new telecommunication towers in unserved areas around the province at a cost of $18.6 million.

Public Works Minister and Queens MLA Kim Masland made the announcement on Wednesday at the Greenfield Fire Hall in north Queens.

She was joined by Colton LeBlanc, minister of Service Nova Scotia, municipal politicians and representatives from Build Nova Scotia and Rogers.

Masland said reliable cell service is a necessity and a matter of safety.

“We are adding to what is already the largest investment ever in cellular infrastructure by a provincial government. We are investing an additional $18.6 million to build 27 new provincially owned telecommunication towers.”

Last October, the province launched the $47.3-million Cellular for Nova Scotia Program. The province also announced $3.3 million last year to build four trunked mobile radio towers, which first responders use for emergency communication. The new funding brings the total investment to $69.2 million.

The province is also partnering with Rogers to upgrade infrastructure at 27 existing sites and connect them to the Rogers network.

“This will significantly improve connectivity for Nova Scotians over the next two years,” Masland said. “It’s what our province needs to keep pace with technology and population growth while improving safety in rural communities.”

The overall program is expected to connect more than 12,000 unserved civic addresses, which represents about 62 per cent of the more than 20,000 identified in a 2022 Cell Gap Study. It will also connect 562 kilometres of unserved primary roadways, or 56 per cent of the 1,010 kilometres of the unserved roadways.

The first four towers will be up by spring 2025, with the remaining new and upgraded sites ready between summer 2025 and spring 2027.

Some areas of the province, like Greenfield, are cellular dead zones. Residents and businesses have to rely on landlines or Wi-Fi calling.

The Greenfield work is expected to be completed by fall of 2026.

Fire Chief Moyal Conrad called it a “game changer” for rural fire departments.

“The public is going to be so much more protected with cell service in rural areas and with us being able to do our job easier and better,” he told reporters after the announcement.

Conrad said improvements to the mobile trunked radio network will also help departments like his serve their communities better.

“That trunk radio that’s what we do all our communications on. … All vital information goes across that. The Nova Scotia government is giving us (volunteer fire departments) all new radios this year, that’s another $100 million they’re sticking out there for us.

“This is very, very, very good news.”

Conrad said the lack of reliable cell service also affects recruitment efforts, at a time when it’s tough enough for rural departments to find volunteers.

“If you signed up today to be a fireman and you never got to a call, you’re not going to be very interested in coming. So the cell service, we’ll be able to put out more information. People will be able to know when there’s a call and they’re going to be able to respond.”

Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman said the municipality had been putting money aside in a special reserve fund to build their own tower for Greenfield, or to try to partner with the neighbouring Municipality of the District of Lunenburg.

“This is absolutely amazing, not only for Queens but for all rural counties, all rural places that do not have cell coverage which is so very, very vital.”

Masland told reporters that it’s taken a while to address lack of cell service in some areas because of the difficulty in doing the work in many rural areas of the province. She likened it to climbing Mount Everest.

“This is just the beginning. We’re working concurrently, not waiting to make sure that we can keep climbing. This is going to take time. We are finally a government that has put its teeth into this problem and we’re going to solve it.

“We’ll get these 27 up and like I said, we’re not stopping, we’re going to continue to climb to the top and we’re going to make sure that Nova Scotians have the cellular service they deserve.”

The 27 new towers will be added to the more than 60 the province already owns. Under its agreement with Rogers, the government is pitching in 80 per cent of the cost, while Rogers will pick up the remaining 20 per cent or about $3.7 million.

The ultimate goal is to have 99 per cent coverage for basic voice call service and up to 85 per cent coverage for high-definition service for things like high-quality audio or video, internet browsing, email and streaming.

Masland said the province will also be applying to the federal government for help with some of the cost.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Road crews were working on the Mount Pleasant Road repaving on Thursday in Brooklyn. (Rick Conrad)

It’s that time of year again. The sounds of trucks and heavy machinery along with the smells of freshly laid asphalt will be popping up around Queens County as road work season gets underway.

Public Works Minister and Queens MLA Kim Masland said Thursday that more than $20 million is being spent this summer and fall on sprucing up roads and bridges around the county.

It’s part of the $583 million the government is setting aside for road and bridge work around the province this year.

“We have been very successful in advocating for some roads. But also, we have some very poor quality roads here,” Masland said.

“We are certainly getting our fair share (of work) this year. It seems like there’s never enough money to do all of the road work. But I certainly feel as MLA and certainly as minister that we’re playing catchup on some of these roads.”

Masland said that many roads in Queens County appeared to have been neglected when the Tim Houston government took over in 2021.

“I’m really happy with the work we’ve been able to do since becoming government.”

Some of that work has already begun. The 1.6-kilometre stretch of Mount Pleasant Road in Brooklyn is being repaved. That counts for about $1 million.

“That’s needed some work for a while. That’s one of the roads I really advocated for,” Masland says.

Queens MLA Kim Masland. (Rick Conrad photo)

About $8 million will be spent on ongoing work to replace the Pleasant River Bridge in North Queens.

And the long-rumoured repaving project for the Brooklyn Shore Road is slated to begin this summer, Masland says. That’s 5.5 kilometres at a cost of about $3 million from Brooklyn Wharf Road to Eastern Shore Road. 

Known locally as the “shore road”, it’s the scenic route to the popular Beach Meadows Beach.

“That will be done this summer. Very, very bad road. When you drive that, you’re literally having to go over on the opposite side of the road.

“With the Brooklyn Shore Road, it has deteriorated very badly and it’s a safety issue now, so that’s why they have brought that forward as a candidate to be repaved.”

Masland says officials from her department are always driving and inspecting roads and bridges in their areas. She says that as MLA and as minister, she also nominates projects after hearing from constituents.

“The public are the ones that really drive concerns. I actually go drive many of these roads myself. If somebody calls me with a complaint about a road, I go and drive that road myself.”

The province released its five-year highway improvement plan last December. 

Masland said the gravel road work budget this year is about $55 million, more than double what it was in 2021. And the province has also increased the bridge rehabilitation budget to $60 million. And her department is devoting $22 million toward the rural impact mitigation fund, which handles things like pavement patching and brush cutting.

“So it shows you the costs of doing these projects. They are not cheap. So to try to manage people’s expectations is certainly very difficult. Everybody’s road that they travel on is the most important. And that’s what makes it very difficult. … If I could pave everyone’s road, I would certainly pave everyone’s road because i understand that the road you travel on is the one that’s important to you.

“But there’s just not enough money to pave every road.”

She said she’s also happy to see the ongoing Highway 103 twinning project, which now reaches from Halifax to Hubbards. 

“Many people from Queens certainly travel the 103 to Halifax for medical appointments, school. It just blows my mind the amount of close collisions that almost happen every day. Twinning does save lives. It is costly but you can’t put a price on a life. “

Masland says that although maintaining roads and bridges is expensive, she’s proud of the work her department is doing. 

“I’m just really glad where we are now. The team’s doing great work. Our maintenance supervisor is out there talking to people, thinking outside the box on how to resolve issues and to try to get work elevated, and Queens County should be very proud of that.”

List of road and bridge projects in Queens County this summer and fall:

• Brooklyn Shore Road, from Brooklyn Wharf Road to Eastern Shore Road
• Mount Pleasant Road, from Trunk 3 to Brooklyn Shore Road
• Reinstating two segments of retaining wall along Shore Road
• Old Port Mouton Road: from Highway 103 Exit 20A to end of service
• Old Westfield Road: from Trunk 8 easterly
• Carters Beach Road and parking lot upgrades
• East Port L’Hebert road repaving
• Albany New Road, rebuilding gravel road
• Trunk 3: from Broad River Road easterly to White Point Road
• New Grafton Road: from Trunk 8 southerly
• Pleasant River Bridge, Route 208

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Public Works Minister and MLA for Queens Kim Masland calls the scope of the damage from the July 21 rainfall unprecedented.

In an interview with QCCR, Masland says the storm closed 114 roads across the province, 27 of those in the Western District.

As a result, over 200 public works staff and 40 private contracting crews were mobilized to begin rebuilding that crucial infrastructure.

Masland said, “I will tell you I as the minister of public works I have never been more impressed and more proud of the people that work for this department and the contractors who worked so hard to do what they had to do.”

Masland says the crews are working long hours to get the province’s road system back in order as quickly as they can.

She says the day after the storm she was out with the province’s chief engineer at 7:30 in the morning to survey the extent of the impact.

“When we came down through the [Highway] 103, I just could not believe what I was seeing. It was, I mean I’ve seen the damage of flooding in Cape Breton when we had that storm, hurricane, I’ve seen, I’ve seen a lot in this department,” said Masland. “Actually my Deputy tells me that as a minister I have seen more in this department in two years than they have experienced in 20.”

Masland says as new construction projects are undertaken in Nova Scotia, roads are being built stronger, culverts are bigger, and bridges are built higher to contend with the increasing severity of the storms.

While she can’t provide an exact timeline when all roads and structures will be repaired Masland says everyone in the department is working diligently.

“We’re doing the best we can as quickly as we can.”

To hear the full interview with Minister Masland, click play below.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com

Flood waters submerge cars up to their windows in the parking lot of a Bedford restaurant. Photo: Communications Nova Scotia

The Milton Centennial Pool appears to have been the greatest casualty for the Region of Queens in this weekend’s storm.

The storm washed out roads, and 100-series highways in neighbouring Hants and Lunenburg counties as well as Halifax with reports indicating between 250 and 300 mm of rain fell across Queens County on Friday.

Despite receiving a summer’s worth of rainfall in a single day, Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman says Queens County got off relatively easy.“We were very, very fortunate here in Queens compared to Lunenburg,” said Norman. “There was no major damage to infrastructure. There was a road wash out on St. Catherine’s Rd in Port Joli.”

Norman says Port Medway and Liverpool fire departments were prepared to go in with their Zodiac boats to evacuate the 45 residents on that road.

The provincial public works department initially estimated the road would take four to five days to repair but after the water subsided, they discovered the major culvert was still intact and the road was repaired by Sunday morning.

Norman says a few driveways have been washed out but for the most part, Queens residents were spared the major damage experienced in other areas of the province.

She spoke with an official at Nova Scotia Public Works and in his words, “he said, Darlene, it ain’t pretty, but we got their driveways fixed. But he was just so impressed by the politeness and the patience that people had as they understood that this is serious, and they will get their driveways fixed.”

Unfortunately, the storm caused significant damage to the Milton Centennial Pool, and it will not reopen the rest of this summer as engineering and public works staff assess the extent of the damage.

The Region of Queens has been wrestling with how to replace the Milton Pool for over a year.

Council recently decided to move forward with a new outdoor pool to be located alongside Queens Place and are awaiting designs.

Anyone enrolled in swim lessons will be contacted and issued a refund.

Mayor Norman says staff will continue to monitor and assess damage across the county but if anyone sees damage that doesn’t look like it’s being addressed, they should contact the municipal office.

“If there are concerns and you see no one and it seems like you’ve been forgotten, then it’s probably because people are unaware. So, please always make a contact. Let people know when you are need of help,” said Norman. “And thank you to every volunteer fireman, neighbour, friend who helped each other and looked after one another because that’s what we’re all about.”

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com

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Entrance to Region of Queens council chambers. Photo Ed Halverson

The proponents of a Liverpool development called “The Point” were back before Region of Queens council with a plan to provide over a hundred units of affordable housing.

Rumclo Developments Ltd recently acquired seven acres across Shore Rd from their proposed “Point” development.

Rumclo laid out their plans to build 22 Townhouses in an area they are calling “The Curve” and 92 apartments made up of 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom units in a community dubbed “Birchwood Gardens”.

The developers want the Region to commit to extending Municipal water and sewer to all their proposed developments in short order.

With Mayor Darlene Norman absent, Deputy Mayor Jack Fancy chaired the most recent meeting.

Fancy says staff are preparing a report outlining what is required to extend municipal services to the developments.

“We should be able to discuss it and have an understand of what the full implications will be for the cost,” said the Deputy Mayor.

The report is expected before council in the coming weeks.

Other highlights from the June 13 council meeting include a $2,475 grant to the Liverpool Ukulele Ceilidh Society from the Region’s Community Investment Fund.

The Region will borrow $780,000 to cover the costs of Liverpool’s Main Street Sewer/Water Project.

Council granted permission to Highway Pentecostal Church to hold church services every Sunday evening in the Liverpool Waterfront Parking lot over July and August.

Public works will receive new four new trucks.

Two ¾ ton heavy duty pickups will come from Mosher Motors at a cost of $152,350 +HST.

The department asked for a budget of up to $40,000 to buy a mid -size truck from David Hatt Auto Sales to be used by the building inspector.

A fourth truck was not included in the 2023-24 capital budget but is needed after a fleet vehicle reached its end of life sooner than expected and needs to be replaced.

Council agreed to fund the purchase of used truck up to $25,000.

Public Works will also be taking ownership of a 2023 Trackless MT7 tractor from Saunders Equipment Ltd, Fredericton NB at a price of $178, 820 + HST. The tractor will be used for snow removal.

In the final piece of business, the new pool came back around for discussion.

After much back-and-forth council decided to go ahead with plans for an outdoor, six-lane, 25-foot-long pool with a zero-entry point after it was determined building an indoor pool is too costly and not feasible at this time.

A wind-breaking fence and hot tank area are also included on the municipality’s wish list.

Council will now wait for the Project Manager and Engineer to come back with conceptual drawings so they can begin pricing out the build.

The next Region of Queens Council meeting will take place at the Greenfield Fire Hall on June 27 at 6pm.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com

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A house in Halifax feels the effect of Hurricane Fiona. Photo Ed Halverson

Hurricane Fiona blew by Queens saving its full fury for other parts of Nova Scotia.

Power is almost completely restored in Queens and clean-up is underway in the wake of Hurricane Fiona.

The South Shore managed to avoid the devastation experienced in northern parts of the province and Cape Breton.

Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman says municipal staff were getting ready well in advance of the storm.

“Probably about a week ahead when it looked like something was coming our way our public works department started clearing out storm drains, ditches, picking up as much debris as possible,” said Norman. “When it became very clear that Fiona was indeed going to impact Nova Scotia then equipment was put down, you know any unneeded signs, people noticed the Main Street area that detour signs those were put away. At Beach Meadows we put away our mobi mat. We prepared ourselves.”

Norman says residents also took the warnings seriously and took steps to weather Fiona.

“It was also great to see people preparing themselves. People were flipping their trampolines and they were putting away lawn furniture and they themselves were getting prepared.” Said Norman.

According to Nova Scotia Power over 50,000 customers were affected in the Western Zone of Nova Scotia, including Queens.

Most of the power failures were a result of trees either falling on or bringing down power lines.

Restoration efforts got underway Friday night and as of Monday morning only a few homes in Queens County remain in the dark.

Many people were unable to communicate following the storm as cell service across all providers was down in many areas of the province.

Life in Queens is returning to normal as schools across the South Shore reopened Monday.

Several comfort stations that were opened immediately following the storm have been closed with the exception of Queens Place which is still offering access to showers, by appointment.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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Minister of Public Works, Queens MLA Kim Masland. Photo Ed Halverson

Queens MLA Kim Masland is opening the public purse in her first official announcement as Minister of Public Works.

Masland was at the public works depot in Liverpool to announce an additional $32.5 million dollars in funding to upkeep rural roads.

The money will go to improve Nova Scotia’s 8,400 kilometres of gravel roads through the purchase of materials and new equipment such as excavators, backhoes and graders.

Masland says the money will improve the lives of rural residents.

“Many people travel these everyday to go to work. We needs to make sure that our roads are in good structure for ambulances [and] fire trucks that need to get to people.”

The minister says an investment in infrastructure now will save taxpayers money in the long run

“The gravel road capitol program; that, is proactively rebuilding our already existing roads. And once we build those to the standard that they need to be built, it reduces our maintenance costs.”

It costs $100,000 to $125,000 per kilometre to repair a gravel road, which will function for approximately 15 years.

Masland says department staff is assessing which roads will be repaired first based on need, current condition and traffic volumes and a list of projects will be released once the jobs are put out to tender.

Monday’s announcement will increase the annual budgets of the programs involved in gravel road maintenance from $31 million to $62 million.

The minister also announced a $1 million Rink Revitalization Fund to help repair community rinks.

The money can be used to replace boards, update mechanical systems as well as improve spectator’s experience through refurbished seating and canteen facilities.

Masland says the department of Communities, Culture and Heritage will soon detail an application process on their website.

“The program will actually be a formula-based program for rink owners and operators to apply looking at lots of criteria: the age of the rink, the capitol requirement, the vicinity of the rink within the community.”

Masland says the province will begin accepting applications from rink managers in the next few weeks.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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