Highway 125 is a 28 km long
controlled-access highway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...
located in
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
's
Cape Breton Regional Municipality
Cape Breton Regional Municipality (often referred to as simply "CBRM") is the Canadian province of Nova Scotia's second largest municipality and the economic heart of Cape Breton Island. As of 2016 the municipality has a population of 94,285. The ...
. The provincial government named it Peacekeepers Way on August 18, 2008. Part of the provincial 100-series arterial highway network, Highway 125 encircles the west side of Sydney Harbour, from an interchange with
Highway 105 (the
Trans-Canada Highway
The Trans-Canada Highway ( French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean o ...
) at
Sydney Mines to
Trunk 4 (Grand Lake Road) immediately east of
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
.
Route description
The northern third of the highway was upgraded during the late 1990s and early 2000s from a
two-lane freeway
A two-lane expressway or two-lane freeway is an expressway or freeway with only one lane in each direction, and usually no median barrier. It may be built that way because of constraints, or may be intended for expansion once traffic volumes ris ...
to a twinned 4-lane
freeway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...
. Particularly problematic was the fact that the highway passes in proximity to Pottle Lake, the water supply reservoir for
North Sydney, which required installation of pollution control monitoring and containment systems.
In 2002 a connector road was built from the Grand Lake Road interchange which gives access to the port of Sydney at the former
Sydney Steel Corporation
Sydney Steel Corporation (SYSCO) was a Crown corporation in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It owned and operated a steel mill in Sydney.
Early history of steelmaking in Sydney
An integrated steel mill was established on the southeast side ...
property which is now an industrial park.
In the fall of 2006, an additional interchange was opened at Coxheath Road, offering direct access to the communities of
Coxheath
Coxheath is a village and civil parish within the Borough of Maidstone, Kent, England. The parish is approximately south of Maidstone. It is mainly centred along Heath Road which links the villages of Yalding and Boughton Monchelsea to the we ...
,
Blacketts Lake
Blacketts Lake is a lake and community in Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada. The town is in the Sydney River watershed, of which the lake forms the headwaters. The lake (and its tributary rivers) is home to the northernmost k ...
, and the Cantley Village subdivision.
In January 2008, a public meeting was held to discuss the required infrastructure to finally twin Highway 125 from its six lane divided portion in
Sydney River
The Sydney River is a short river located in Cape Breton County, Nova Scotia, Cape Breton County, Nova Scotia, Canada. Historically, it was also referred to as the Spanish River from the 18th century Early modern France, French name for its estua ...
to its eastern terminus at Grand Lake Road. The design work and implementation will require the construction of a roundabout at the George Street exit (in addition to the roundabout at the Alexandra Street exit that was completed in December 2009), as well as over-pass structures for George Street, and Cow Bay Road/Upper Prince Street. The Cow Bay Road/Upper Prince Street overpass has now been cancelled, and a round-a-about is being proposed for Exit 9. At-grade intersections will be eliminated, and access roads will be constructed for a DND small arms range between Exits 8 (George Street) and Exit 9 (Grand Lake Road/SPAR), as well as the fresh water reservoir. The project is expected to be completed in 2012.
On December 4, 2010, twinning was completed from Exit 4 near Balls Creek to Exit 5A near Coxheath.
History
The highway was built in the late 1950s - early 1960s and extended from North Sydney to Point Edward, but branched off in Point Edward and continued along
Nova Scotia Route 305
Route 305 is a collector road in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.
It is located in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality and connects Little Bras d'Or at Highway 105 with Westmount at Trunk 4. It was originally known as Trunk 5 until 197 ...
then Trunk 5 until Sydney River. When Highway 125 bypassed the Trunk 5 sections of 125 in the late 1960s - early 1970s it became a controlled access highway for a lot of the highway. In 1970 the highway extended to Grand Lake Road bypassing Sydney to
Nova Scotia Trunk 4
Trunk 4 is part of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia's system of Trunk Highways. The route runs from Highway 104 exit 7 near Thomson Station to Glace Bay. Until the construction of the Trans-Canada Highway, Trunk 4 was a major traffic link ...
. In the 1990s the highway became twinned from Balls Creek - Upper North Sydney and from the late 1990s- early 2000s it was twinned around North Sydney and waterlines were placed around Pottle Lake. In 2010 the highway was twinned from Point Edward to Sydney River. In 2014 and 2015 the highway was twinned between Sydney River and Grand Lake Road (its eastern terminus).
Kilometres northwest to southeast
0 to 2.7 km
* This section was built in the early 1960s as an uncontrolled access highway
* At Exit 2 Johnston Road; King Street there was an intersection until the early 2000s when it was twinned to a 4 lane freeway
* The speed limit is 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph)
2.7 km to 9 km
* This section was built in the early 1960s as a Super 2 controlled access highway
* This section was twinned to a 4 lane freeway between the early 1990s until the early 2000s
* The speed limit is 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph)
9 km to 11.6 km
* This section was built in the late 1950s as a Super 2 uncontrolled access highway
* Three intersections were inserted before Exit 3 and 4 were built
* This section was twinned to a 4 lane freeway in the early 1990s
* The speed limit is 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph)
11.6 km to 19.2 km
* This section was built in the late 1960s as a Super 2 controlled Access Highway with the exception of an intersection
* A new interchange at Exit 5A was put in 2006 for connections to Coxheath Road, Blacketts Lake
* This section was twinned in 2010
* The speed limit is 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph)
19.2 to 28.0 km
* This section was built in the late 1960s as a Super 2 controlled access highway.
* This section was twinned between 2014 and 2015.
*A new interchange at Exit 7A was put in 2015 for connections to Membertou.
* It is the busiest section of this highway
* The speed limit is 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph) with the exception of Cow Bay Road and the end of the highway where it is at 80 kilometres per hour (49 mph)
Exit list
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:125
Nova Scotia provincial highways
Roads in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality
Limited-access roads in Canada