Alberta man drums up support to twin Highway 103 in N.S.

A Nova Scotia man now living in Alberta has stepped up his lobbying efforts to have a highway on the province's South Shore twinned.

Tim Conrad, formerly of Bridgewater, said he’s lost three friends to crashes on Highway 103.

He started an online petition less than a week ago and has gathered about 6,200 signatures so far.

"People have continued to see these collisions on the highways over these past years. As more people are killed and more people are injured more people are impacted. It’s well known on the South Shore, they know somebody that’s been either hurt or killed on Highway 103 and that's just sad and we need to deal with that," he said.

The province has plans to twin the highway between exits 5 and 6 but not for a few more years. For now they're telling people to keep their eyes on the road.

'We need it to happen so people stop dying on Highway 103.' —Tim Conrad

"It needs attention and it needs attention now. We need to see constructions started. We’ve been told everything is in line to start construction, but it hasn’t happened and we need it to happen so people stop dying on Highway 103," Conrad said.

He said when he reaches 10,000 signatures he’ll present the petition to provincial officials.

Earlier this month two people died after a van swerved out in traffic on a two-lane section of the highway, slamming into an SUV.

RCMP said six people have died on the same stretch of highway between exits 5 and 7 in the past four years.

In 2009, the Canadian Automobile Association ranked Highway 103 as the second most dangerous in the country.