Nova Scotia

Traffic delays expected as work on new Bedford roundabout begins

The traffic flow on one of Nova Scotia’s busiest roads is about to get a lot slower. Work on a new roundabout for Larry Uteck Boulevard in Bedford began Monday morning and will continue over the next three months.

Larry Uteck Boulevard construction is one of about 85 road projects in the Halifax region

A worker uses a saw to cut up the pavement on Larry Uteck Boulevard on Monday as work on a new roundabout began. (Paul Palmeter/CBC)

The traffic flow on one of Nova Scotia's busiest roads is about to get a lot slower.

Work on a new roundabout for Larry Uteck Boulevard in Bedford began Monday morning and will continue over the next three months.

A section of Broad Street is now closed to traffic and lane reductions on Larry Uteck will slow traffic to allow crews to work on the road.

Motorists all over the Halifax region are seeing lots of road construction. There are approximately 85 active road projects in the municipality.

Another roundabout in the west Bedford area will be built next year, and is expected to be completed before September 2022 when a new pre-primary to Grade 8 school opens its doors. A new high school is also being built on the same parcel of land and is expected to open in 2023.

Two new schools, at a cost of more than $94 million, are being built near Larry Uteck Boulevard. (Paul Palmeter/CBC)

By the time the work is done there will be four roundabouts on Larry Uteck Boulevard.

Over the last 10 years, dozens of large condo complexes and apartment buildings have been built in the area, along with hundreds of townhouses.

Dozens of new buildings and hundreds of homes have been built over the last 10 years in the west Bedford area near Larry Uteck Boulevard. (Paul Palmeter/CBC)

The construction boom is why the new schools, at a projected cost of $94.4 million, are being built.

Existing schools in the Bedford area are already at capacity and cannot accept more students.