Port Hawkesbury Town Council is backing the Town of Mulgrave’s attempt to make improvements to Highway 344.
At Tuesday night’s regular public meeting, town councillors voted to send a letter to the Minister of Public Works, Fred Tilley, in support of Mulgrave’s effort to secure funding to pave the highway running through the town, highlighting the importance of the road to industrial development.
At the committee-of-the-whole session of town council, CAO Terry Doyle said the highway provides access to the rest of Guysborough County, but the highway is owned by Mulgrave, which he said is a “really onerous burden on that small town.”
In the letter, Mulgrave CAO David Gray said that with an estimated cost of “several million dollars,” even a 50-50 cost-sharing arrangement with the province would be a “significant financial hardship” for Mulgrave.
Doyle said there is a possibility the road will support industry in the region, something Port Hawkesbury has been working on with other municipalities, specifically on the marine side and land-based wind farms.
Noting she understands Mulgrave’s financial plight, Mayor Brenda Chisholm-Beaton said industrial development is “very dependent” on good roadways.