APTA gets explanation for bridge changes

CHARLOTTETOWN – The government of PEI has made some changes to the crossing into the province, which some truckers are saying is unsafe.

According to reports, a new intersection near the Confederation Bridge in Borden-Carleton might be a hazard for truck leaving the weigh station.

Previously, truckers at the foot of the bridge on the P.E.I. easily merged with other traffic coming off the bridge. Now, a stop sign forces truckers to stop and join traffic by doing a 90-degree left hand turn.

Some truckers worry that cars coming off the bridge won’t see stopped trucks in time, especially during peak traffic times.

The province evidently feels that unobstructed merging was the real hazard and says the left turn improved safety.

The Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association sought an explanation from transport officials and was told that changes were to accommodate improvements to the roads leading for tourism and for the aforementioned safety reasons, APTA executive director Jean Marc Picard states in a notice to members.

"They are aware that the new route might be risky on busy days," notes Picard, who adds that a new weigh in motion scale, which will be operational in the new few months, should improve traffic flow by waiving traffic ahead on busy days.

"They also made some assumptions of traffic flows on that road into the island and assured us that carriers will not have any problems turning left into traffic at any point in time."

He says the province truckers should only have to wait 20 to 30 seconds to turn.