HALIFAX — More than two decades after Nova Scotia's only tolled section of highway was built, drivers of passenger and commercial vehicles registered in the province will no longer be charged to use it.
Premier Tim Houston on Thursday announced the immediate removal of the tolls for Nova Scotia motorists who use the Cobequid Pass, fulfilling a promise the Progressive Conservatives made during last summer's election campaign.
The former Liberal government had hinted at the pending toll removal as early as 2018, but it held off in order to pay for improvements made in 2020 that included a pull-off area for motorists and a maintenance area for road crews and plows. Work on the maintenance area was subsequently placed on hold.
"I think it's a happy day, particularly for those in Cumberland County who were disproportionately hit by that toll over the years," Houston told reporters.
The tolls would remain, however, for passenger and commercial vehicles registered outside the province in order to help fund maintenance on the 45-kilometre stretch of highway between Amherst and Truro, Houston said.
According to the province, the pass generated about $19.9 million in annual pre-pandemic toll revenue, with about $390 million collected since the highway was completed in 1997. Public Works Minister Kim Masland said the new tolling regime would bring in about $10.7 million in revenue annually — a reduction of about $9.2 million.
Of that amount, $8.2 million would be used to operate the toll plaza and to help maintain its 50 full- and part-time jobs, Masland said, adding that the remaining $2.5 million would be used for highway maintenance.
"Those coming in from out of province … will still have to stop at the plaza so there's still lots to do," Masland said. "Not much has changed as far as infrastructure and the operation goes."
Officials said there were no plans to increase the remaining tolls, which run from $4 for passenger vehicles to as high as $24 for some trucks, buses and for tractor trailers with multiple axels. About 50 per cent of passenger vehicles and about 70 per cent of commercial trucks that use the Cobequid Pass are registered out of province.
The province said Nova Scotia motorists without transponders would need to stop at a booth to prove their vehicle is registered in the province. Masland said residents could apply for the device and receive one by mail free of charge.
Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin, an Independent member of the legislature who represents the riding of Cumberland North, applauded the government's move, adding that it was a long time coming for her constituents, who she said have been seeking fairness.
"The average resident of Cumberland County had to pay an extra tax to go to medical appointments in urban Halifax that other Nova Scotians did not have to pay," Smith-McCrossin said in an interview.
She said the same tax was paid by truckers who moved products from manufacturing plants in the Amherst area and other goods such as lumber, lobster and blueberries.
The pass was built through a public-private partnership and was opened in an effort to reduce accidents in an area of highway that ran through the Wentworth Valley, formerly referred to as “Death Valley.”
The province said the Cobequid Pass cost about $112.9 million to construct and took 20 months to complete. Last month, Masland announced that the province had paid off the remaining bonds for the highway.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 16, 2021.
Keith Doucette, The Canadian Press
