Minister clarifies the status of Tors Cove road project

Tom Rideout, Minister of Transportation and Works, today clarified the status of one of the planned roadwork projects in Tors Cove. "As we moved forward with preparation for the work, we discovered that one of the projects actually involved a private road. Consequently, government has no authority to perform construction or maintenance on it, and it is not eligible for funding under the Provincial Roads Improvement Program."

There are tens of thousands of kilometres of road in Newfoundland and Labrador. Some 9,000 kilometres are provincial roads. There are also private roads, federal roads, municipal roads and roads in un-incorporated areas. These roads are managed and maintained under a variety of authorities and agreements, which may or may not involve the Department of Transportation and Works. Minister Rideout said, "Unfortunately, we made a mistake about the classification of this particular road."

The minister said he has directed his officials to take all necessary steps to correct the situation.

Media contact: Deirdre Robinson-Greene, Communications, (709) 729-0084 or (709) 685-7678

2004 09 03              3:45 p.m.