Dangerous ruts to be fixed on Cape Breton's Highway 125, but only for 10-km stretch

A plan to repave a 10-kilometre stretch of Cape Breton highway falls short of what a retired Public Works employee said is needed to fix dangerous ruts that have been blamed in the past for crashes.

Danny Laffin said he tried to get the province to fix the ruts on Highway 125 a few years ago, but they came back. He blamed the problem on a microcoating material used to fill in the grooves.

"I believe it was just a short-term solution, a Band-Aid over the problem, where the department needs to look at maybe a different type of material," he said. "Every three or four years going back out there to try and fix the problem isn't a solution."

Local volunteer fire chiefs have previously said the ruts were factors in crashes involving injuries and deaths. The problem is made worse when it rains because the ruts fill with water and cause hydroplaning. Drivers often move over to avoid driving in the grooves.

Laffin said measurements show the ruts are caused by passenger vehicles and not large highway trucks, and he believes the real problem is studded tires wearing away at the road surface.

"I really think they need to look at it sooner rather than later," Laffin said. "I believe it's a simple fix and I believe that people that use that highway deserve to drive on a safer highway than what they're driving on today."

Laffin retired from the Public Works Department last fall not long after he ran unsuccessfully against Fred Tilley in the provincial election. Tilley won the seat in Northside-Westmount for the Progressive Conservatives and is now minister of public works.

His riding includes Highway 125 between Sydney Mines and Sydney River.

This week, Tilley announced plans to repave a 10-kilometre stretch of that road in his riding later this summer, despite the work not being listed in the newly released five-year highways plan.

"This is a longstanding issue here that needs to be addressed, and of course we want to address that and it's time to get that done," he said.

"One thing that I would urge the motoring public is to be careful when you're driving in that area just to try and avoid those ruts if possible. There's always issues with highways and that's why we're urging folks to be careful when they drive that stretch."

Tilley said the department used a microseal material on some ruts four years ago, but engineers are doing "a great job" of studying the problem and have decided to remove all of the pavement and replace it.

"We're confident that the paving that's done this summer will fix that issue," he said.

Tilley said ruts can be caused by a number of factors, including the paving materials, the amount and weight of traffic, and studded tires.

He couldn't say how the province would prevent the ruts from reoccurring and said he did not have any specific plan to fix the ruts elsewhere on Highway 125 or on other highways across the province.

In 2020, while still with Public Works, Laffin got in trouble with his employer after writing a letter to the editor of a newspaper expressing concern for his daughter, who was using the highway to get to the community college.

Laffin said he felt at the time he had a responsibility to alert the public regardless of repercussions at work.

"I did the right thing and I'd do it again," he said. "The government can do better when it comes to that section of highway."