N.L. awards contract to finish — finally — Team Gushue Highway

Almost a quarter-century after construction began, shovels will soon be in the ground to begin work to finish the Team Gushue Highway, according to Premier Andrew Furey.

Furey and a contingent of provincial and federal government representatives announced Tuesday that a $30-million contract, tendered in July, had been awarded to Bursey Excavating and Development to oversee the last 3.3 kilometres of highway.

When completed, the highway — the planning of which was mapped out in the 1970s — will complete Pitts Memorial Drive in Mount Pearl with the Outer Ring Road in the north end of St. John's. 

The contract is cost-shared between Newfoundland and Labrador and Ottawa, each contributing $15 million.

"It was loud and clear that this had been left for too long," Furey said.

"So it's shovels in the ground here to complete this important project.… It is the full completion of the original concept."

After decades of development and delays, construction on what was then called the bifurcation highway started in phases in 2000. The road was named six years later after the curling team skipped by Brad Gushue won gold at the 2006 Olympics in Italy. 

Jamie Korab, who had been a member of that team and is now a Liberal MHA in the Furey government, said the completion will be welcomed.

"The guys, they're happy it's going to be open so they can finally stop getting those social media messages to finish the highway," he said with a laugh.

The final work will connect Topsail Road to Commonwealth Avenue, Brookfield Road and the Heavy Tree Road area of Mount Pearl, along with a roundabout connecting Pitts Memorial Drive and Robert E. Howlett Memorial Drive, which connects the city to the Southern Shore to St. John's.

Furey said the road network will open up economic opportunities and convenience for getting around the northeast Avalon Peninsula while cutting down congestion on municipal roads.

Bay Bulls Mayor Keith O'Driscoll said the connection, which could cut commutes in half, will be huge for the area.

"This road now will bring you into the middle of the town within 20 minutes from Bay Bulls," O'Driscoll said. "It's going to be great to see."

Although construction is set to begin in the coming weeks, Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Fred Hutton said not all of the needed land is in government hands just yet.

While he doesn't believe it's enough to derail the project, negotiations remain ongoing with some land owners.

"Transportation and Infrastructure do that on a regular basis when big projects like this are ongoing," Hutton said. "I don't think we've gone down the expropriation point at this point, but the offer would be fair market value for whatever land would have to be used."

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