Upgrades are coming to Route 11 which the province says will improve safety.

Passing lanes will be added in two locations between Bouctouche and Miramichi.

One set of passing lanes will be in the Rexton area, the other near Route 480 in Saint-Louis-de-Kent.

“Both projects support our ongoing priority to provide a safer drive along this critical link in our province,” Transportation Minister Richard Ames said in a news release.

Construction on the two projects, valued at $11.5 million, should be complete by the end of the year.

Officials say these are the first in a series of passing lanes planned between Bouctouche and Miramichi.

Route 11 is a key transportation and trade corridor between northern and southeast New Brunswick, as well as Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.