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Construction will soon start on a long-awaited emergency route from the Upper Tantallon neighbourhood where a major wildfire began three years ago.
On Monday, the Halifax Regional Municipality said work would begin in early October on the egress route connecting the southwestern end of Westwood Hills and Highway 103.
Richard O’Fegan, president of the Westwood Hills Residents Association, said while the move is “long overdue,” residents have been glad to finally see equipment like an excavator in place.
“There is a sigh of relief that, you know, what was committed to is now coming to fruition,” O’Fegan said Monday.
The municipality said the road is expected to be complete by late December, while some parts of the project, like restoration work, may take place next spring.
Halifax will start building an emergency egress route between Westwood Boulevard and Highway 103 in early October. (Halifax Regional Municipality)
A 2025 staff report said the total cost of the egress project, including planning and buying the necessary property, is expected to run about $2.7 million.
Work will be done on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., to build the 500-metre-long gravel road connecting Westwood Boulevard and the highway.
Residents should expect to see more construction-related traffic throughout the project, the city said, while temporary stop-and-go traffic and lane reductions may be required.
Like the two egress routes built immediately after the fire from the neighbouring Haliburton Hills and Highland Park subdivisions, the road will have locked gates on either end that can be opened in emergencies by city staff or emergency responders.
A lack of egress became a huge issue during the May 2023 wildfire, which destroyed 150 homes in Upper Tantallon and Hammonds Plains. Hundreds of people were caught in long lines of traffic in the area, with some people driving through smoke and walls of flame.
O’Fegan said while the community welcomes this step, there is “still a lot of work” to be done on making sure all residents in the neighbourhood can get out safely in emergencies.
Because the new route is close to the bottom of the neighbourhood, where two current exits empty onto Hammonds Plains Road, O’Fegan said that still leaves the back half of the neighbourhood with a long way to drive in emergencies.
Residents would ideally like to see another access route to Highway 103 further north into the neighbourhood, O’Fegan said, while uncertainty remains about the municipality exploring community connector roads between Westwood Hills and Upper Hammonds Plains or Highland Park North.
Halifax is hosting an online survey and two open houses to gather feedback from the public and learn about the proposed connector roads from municipal staff.
The city said the purpose of the roads would be to improve emergency egress throughout the area, and help improve transportation connections between the communities in light of ongoing traffic issues with Hammonds Plains Road.
O’Fegan said the “big question” is whether those connector roads would come with new private development, because residents are worried that would bring more traffic, and strain on the water table in an area where people are on wells.
“I’m confident they’re going to be met with opposition if it comes with … the tag of further development,” O’Fegan said.
The first open house is Wednesday at the Upper Hammonds Plains Community Centre on Pockwock Road, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The second is Oct.15 at the Tantallon Public Library on Hammonds Plains Road from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
A wider public engagement program on roadway improvements for Hammonds Plains Road, including all communities it directly serves, will come in early 2027, according to the municipality.
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