New Brunswick Route 11 - History

History

Since the late 1960s, Route 11 has received several upgrades and re-designations as it progresses toward eventually becoming an expressway.

The most significant upgrade to the entire highway route along the east coast of New Brunswick was the opening of the Centennial Bridge which replaced a ferry service and bypassed the town of Chatham in 1967.

In 1972 a new 4-lane expressway opened between Moncton and Shediac, which was then referred to as the Shediac Four-Lane Highway or Shediac Expressway (it was subsequently numbered Route 15 and is known as the Veterans Memorial Highway). Prior to this new expressway, Route 11 followed the Shediac Road from Shediac to Moncton, terminating at Route 2, the Trans-Canada Highway in Lakeville. Route 11's southern terminus was then changed to the current interchange at Route 15 in Shediac.

Controlled access Super 2 expressway sections on Route 11 were completed during the 1970s in Bathurst and the Campbellton-Dalhousie area, as well as between Shediac and Bouctouche.

During the 1980s and into the early 1990s, two long stretches of Super 2 expressway were completed on Route 11; one running from Bouctouche to Kouchibouguac National Park (bypassing Richibucto), and another running between Bathurst and Charlo, where the existing Super 2 section running east from Campbellton ended. The Super 2 section in Bathurst was also extended eastward past Salmon Beach at the city's east end.

A bypass of Tracadie-Sheila opened to traffic in 2002. Also, an extension to that existing bypass should be done by 2009, linking the northern end and Six-Roads, near Pokemouche.

Route 11 has recently been identified for major upgrades following completion of the twinning project on the Trans-Canada Highway (Route 2) in 2007. Initial design work is being done for upgrading the existing 4-lane section from Route 15 to Shediac Bridge (2 km), followed by construction of a new 4-lane section from Shediac Bridge to Bouctouche (twinning the existing Super 2 section).

Twinning advocates wish to have Route 11 upgraded as a 4-lane expressway for the entire section between Miramichi and Moncton, although this project will be competing for priority with similar upgrades being planned for Route 8 between Fredericton and Miramichi, Route 1 between Lepreau and St. Stephen, and Route 7 between Grand Bay-Westfield and Oromocto.