There was Federal and Provincial monies available for the Wentworth Bypass (about $50 million) under existing highway development agreements. This was enough to build a 30 mile stretch of two-lane all-weather road between Oxford and Glenholm, which would have been such an improvement over the existing road in terms of safety, speed and reliability as to serve the motoring public "toll free" well into the 21st century. Twinning the road could have been done gradually over the next decade or more.

Maybe it was because of the Government's dream of an Atlantic Expressway to be the catalyst to whisk Nova Scotia into an era of unprecedented prosperity, or it may have been more in line with changing Government thinking towards privatization and user pay, especially for those Government services that we have for years taken for granted. Whatever the cause, the Government broke with tradition and decided to build a four-lane road all at the one sitting.

The belt tightening administration of the early 1990's could not find or more reasonably "justify" the expenditure of an additional $60 million on this project. The solution, extremely unpopular, was to build, in partnership with private developers, who would kick in the extra dollars and reap their profits through tolls collected over the next thirty years.

In my opinion the decision to build the Wentworth Bypass as a toll road was wrong. First, with the exception of bridge/ferry charges to our Island Provinces, the original concept of the Trans Canada Highway was a free highway system (not necessarily four lane) from the Atlantic to Pacific. To put a toll on the Wentworth Bypass, an integral part of Nova Scotia's Trans Canada Highway system, was against the spirit of aims of the Trans Canada concept. Secondly, there is a place for toll highways, usually as alternate routes, where they offer advantages that a driver is willing to pay for. Notable examples in Canada are the Okanagan Toll Road in B.C., the newly-opened 407 Highway near Toronto and the yet-to-be-built Moncton-Fredericton Expressway, as they are all, or will be, alternates to an existing free highway system.

It is possible that Premier MacLellan will take steps to remove the tolls from the soon-to-be-opened road. After all, during his leadership race, he did say that he would "do something" about the situation if he were to become Premier. Unfortunately for politicians of the 1990's, they are finding that inconsiderate voters are expecting and demanding that they follow through on promises made in the heat of a campaign. The now Premier MacLellan is now expected to do that something. Whatever that something is, it will be very costly for Nova Scotians.

The cause of the toll problems facing us today at Wentworth, can be traced directly back to the Province's transportation policy over the last four decades. This has, and continues to be, a policy which concentrates on highway building and development at the expense of other modes. The cost to buy out the private developers, and rightfully we must, as a deal is a deal, will be in the $60 to $70 million range. Whether this comes from a tax on gasoline or gambling, or from general provincial revenues, is immaterial. The important thing to remember is that just the interest alone on this money, invested at going rates would:

- provide rail passenger service between Sydney and Halifax and also a rail commuter service into the Annapolis Valley from Halifax;
- provide a daily bus service between Truro and Parrsboro, to Yarmouth, St. Peters and Shelburne, and to more remote areas such as between Sydney and Ingonish and Cheticamp;
- provide assistance to our two short line railroads in the form of capital expenditures, such as tie replacement, industrial spurs and rolling stock, which would repay the province handsomely over the years;
- ensure that urban bus service continues to be available in Pictou County, Industrial Cape Breton and Yarmouth.

In closing, and although it is beyond the scope of this review, one must reflect on other areas of Government services and guess how many hospital beds, classrooms, and rural medical services the same amount of money spent in these directions would provide.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Since this article was submitted, Premier MacLellan has announced that the tolls will NOT be removed on the Wentworth Bypass. There will be a toll reduction from $3 to $1.50 for automobiles, and from $2 to $1.50 per axle (max. six) for trucking companies who would have electronic toll scanners fixed to the body of their trucks, and for local residents who would buy toll tokens or passes in blocks of at least 20.

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