MHA for Harbour Main calls for action to address the deplorable conditions along Route 60
For Immediate Release
(April 19, 2024, St. John’s, N.L.): Helen Conway Ottenheimer, MHA for Harbour Main, is urging the Liberal government to take action immediately and the necessary steps to address the deteriorating state of the roads in her district, especially along Route 60 from Holyrood, Seal Cove and Upper Gullies.
Residents and municipal leaders throughout the district have raised serious concerns about road safety within their towns and communities. This week, Conway Ottenheimer raised the matter in the House of Assembly, saying: “These roads see high traffic flows every day and drivers can expect to see potholes, severe rutting, limited shoulders and washed-out areas along the way.”
Five years of petitions, questions and speeches in the House of Assembly, letters from municipalities, meetings with Ministers, site visits with two consecutive Ministers to see firsthand the unfit conditions of this portion of Route 60 – but yet no action.” Conway Ottenheimer asked transportation Minister John Abbott: “If the Minister will not listen to me, will the minister listen to the people, the people who are so disappointed, who have to drive over these despicable, deplorable and dangerous roads every day?”
“Neglected maintenance and inadequate repairs have raised serious concerns about public safety,” she told the House, adding: “This is unacceptable and we are going to have to resort to other collective action. Maybe protest will get some answers.”
Conway Ottenheimer said the concerns of the residents of Holyrood, Seal Cove and Upper Gullies were ignored once again in the latest round of projects under the province’s $1.4 billion, five-year road plan. “Year after year, minister after minster, and still the people in this area have been forced to drive over unsafe roads each day and it is not good enough. It is time for this Liberal government to listen to the residents and the town councils in the district of Harbour Main and make road safety and maintenance a priority.”
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Contacts:
Ashley Jackson-Politi
Media Relations Manager
(W) (709) 685-3161
(C) (709) 325-5200