(Photo: Courtesy of Facebook)

Road repairs are top of mind for a lot of Salisbury residents after the recent closure of Route 106, which is also Main Street.

This comes after the recent washout of the roadway.

Mayor Rob Campbell says this isn’t the first time and this Route should have already been fixed. He feels the province tends to do a lot of temporary fixes instead of investing in permanent ones, “This is something that should have been done a year ago and it has just been constantly overlooked. We really need to be more proactive in these situations.”

Campbell adds three gateways into the community have fallen into disrepair, due to a lack of care and diligence by the province, “Our citizens feel that we have three areas where you enter and leave our community that are falling apart that have the ability to almost create an island for our community. The province hasn’t done anything about it. We have another culvert on the other end of Salisbury near Reader Road that’s also been watched for years. It is really just one bad storm away from washing out. We’ve got a bridge that goes into Coverdale that’s not a part of their three-year plan to repair and it is down to one lane and is falling apart. We are the gateway to Atlantic Canada, and from a tourism perspective, we are a conduit to bring people into the Hopewell Rocks, the Fundy trail, and all those different areas and you know we don’t want to be a drive-thru province. To not be a drive-thru province, we need to take care of the infrastructure.”

Albert MLA Mike Holland says he has spoken to the Department of Transportation about the issues and is pushing for a permanent fix, “We need to book a meeting where all of the parties concerned that have influence over the end results are sitting at that same table so that we can once and for all put together a clearly understood, mutually agreed upon plan with expectations on time frame.”

Holland expects immediate action will be taken weather permitting, “There are certain limitations that we have to take into consideration when it comes to weather but beyond that, get to work and get it done.”

According to a news release from the Village of Salisbury, DTI has confirmed its intent to install a temporary bridge (one lane, with traffic lights) on Route 106  at the culvert for McNaughton Brook between Larsen Lane and Parkin Street at this location within the next month, pending factors such as weather. They say a permanent fix is expected in the Summer of 2023.

Campbell also recently expressed his concerns about safety due to this road closure on Main Street. Traffic is currently being detoured through a small subdivision, and residents have complained motorists are not abiding by lower speed limits.

The Village has been in contact with the RCMP who have confirmed they will increase presence and patrols in the area to monitor traffic. They’ll also be installing two temporary speed radar signs in the coming week to remind motorists to slow down.