.svg)  Highway 104 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Route Transcanadienne | ||||
| Miners Memorial Highway Trans-Canada Highway | ||||
 Highway 104 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byNova Scotia Department of Public Works | ||||
| Length | 319.4 km[1] (198.5 mi) | |||
| Existed | 1964–present | |||
| Trans-Canada Highway segment | ||||
| Length | 274.1 km[1] (170.3 mi) | |||
| West end |  Route 2 (TCH) at theNew Brunswick border | |||
| Major intersections | ||||
| East end |    Hwy 105 (TCH) /Trunk 4 /Trunk 19 atPort Hastings | |||
| Cape Breton segment | ||||
| Length | 37.3 km[1] (23.2 mi) | |||
| West end | Trunk 4 nearPort Hawkesbury | |||
| East end | Trunk 4 nearSt. Peter's | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | Canada | |||
| Province | Nova Scotia | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
Highway 104 inNova Scotia, Canada, runs fromFort Lawrence at theNew Brunswick border nearAmherst toRiver Tillard nearSt. Peter's. Except for the portion onCape Breton Island betweenPort Hawkesbury andSt. Peter's, it forms the main route of theTrans-Canada Highway across the province.[2]
Highway 104 mostly supplants the former route of Trunk 4. In 1970, all sections of Trunk 4 west ofNew Glasgow were renumbered, although the number was added back in theMount Thom andWentworth Valley areas in the 1990s when new alignments of Highway 104 opened to traffic.
The provincial government named the highway theMiners Memorial Highway on 8 September 2008 one month before the 50th anniversary of theSpringhill mining disaster of 23 October 1958.[3]
The highway's present alignment measures 319 kilometres (198 mi) long, of which the western 180 km (110 mi) between the inter-provincial border withNew Brunswick atFort Lawrence through toSutherlands River is a 4-lane divided freeway. The eastern 142 kilometres (88 mi) from Sutherlands River toRiver Tillard is a mixture of 2-lanecontrolled access freeway known as aSuper 2, uncontrolled access 2-lane highway, and 4-lane divided freeway sections.
Highway 104 is divided into two distinct sections; the Trans-Canada Highway section which runs from the New Brunswick border toPort Hastings, and a smaller section onCape Breton Island betweenPort Hawkesbury andSt. Peter's.[2]
From the inter-provincial border atFort Lawrence, Highway 104 is a 4-lane divided freeway with posted speed limit of 110 kilometres per hour (70 mph) and runs east for 48 kilometres (30 mi) past the towns ofAmherst andOxford toThomson Station. This section had been built in the 1960s as a Super 2 and was upgraded to a 4-lane divided freeway that opened in 1993. From Thomson Station the highway runs southeast for 45 kilometres (28 mi) toMasstown, this segment is atolled section known as theCobequid Pass, which opened on 15 November 1997. From Masstown, the highway runs east and northeast for 14 kilometres (9 mi) to the rural community ofOnslow, nearTruro, and intersectsHighway 102, the main 4-lane divided freeway connecting the Trans-Canada Highway withHalifax and southern Nova Scotia.
Highway 104 continues for 55 kilometres (34 mi), pastWestville, toHighway 106, a branch of the Trans-Canada Highway that connects toPrince Edward Island viaferry. The highway continues east for 4 kilometres (2 mi) toStellarton andNew Glasgow, with the highway passing through Stellarton; however, New Glasgow is located just to the north of the highway. The highway continues toSutherlands River, where it reached the eastern extent of the 4-lane divided freeway until July 25, 2023.[2]
East ofSutherlands River, Highway 104 runs east for 17 kilometres (11 mi) toBarney's River Station, and was built between 1964 and 1965 as a Super 2 and twinned between 2020 and 2023.[4] East of Barney's River Station, the highway runs east for 10 kilometres (6 mi) toJames River as a 4-lane divided freeway, which opened to traffic on May 18, 2023.[5] This segment bypasses a 12-kilometre-long (7.5 mi) 2-lane uncontrolled access highway segment, which was formerly part of and is now once again part ofTrunk 4.[4] Past James River, the highway continues east for 12 kilometres (7 mi) toAddington Forks as a 4-lane divided freeway[4] where the highway runs east for 11 kilometres (7 mi) toSouth River Road, along a new alignment of 4-lane divided freeway that opened on September 19, 2012. Prior to this new alignment opening, Highway 104 ran east on the present alignment ofTrunk 4 and Post Road in the town ofAntigonish and included three intersections controlled by traffic lights. The highway continues from South River Road as a 4-lane divided freeway, which opened October 22, 2016, for 7 kilometres (4 mi) toDagger Woods.[6] Prior to this new alignment opening, this section was an uncontrolled access highway (formerlyTrunk 4).[2]
From the end of the freeway section atDagger Woods, the highway runs east for 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) toPomquet Forks as a Super 2 and remains as a controlled access highway, although there are several at-grade intersections. East of Pomquet Forks, the highway runs east for 3 kilometres (2 mi) toHeatherton as an uncontrolled access highway (formerly Trunk 4) and speed limit reduces 90 kilometres per hour (55 mph). Past Heatherton, the highway runs east for 29 kilometres (18 mi) toAuld's Cove and speed limit increased back to 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph). At Auld's Cove, the highway becomes an uncontrolled access highway with a posted speed limit of 70 kilometres per hour (45 mph) and begins aconcurrency withTrunk 4. It crosses theStrait of Canso along the 1.4-kilometre-long (0.9 mi)Canso Causeway toPort Hastings onCape Breton Island. At Port Hastings, the highway intersectsTrunk 4,Trunk 19 andHighway 105 at a roundabout where Highway 105 proceeds east carrying the Trans-Canada Highway designation.[2]
From the roundabout atPort Hastings, there is an 8-kilometre (5 mi) gap in Highway 104 which is connected byTrunk 4, passing the town ofPort Hawkesbury. The highway reappears at the Exit 43 interchange for Trunk 4 inMelville, just outside of Port Hawkesbury.[2] A Highway 104 bypass from Port Hastings to Melville has been proposed in the past. Concept designs have shown a new alignment of 4-lane freeway being built around the northwest side of Port Hastings, crossing Highway 105 at a new interchange near an electrical substation. The new alignment of Highway 104 would proceed east and then southeast approximately following a power line corridor to the Exit 43 interchange inMelville.
From Port Hawkesbury, the highway runs east as a controlled access Super 2 for 34 kilometres (21 mi) to its current eastern terminus at an at-grade intersection withTrunk 4 inRiver Tillard, nearSt. Peters. An extension of Highway 104 fromRiver Tillard toSydney River has been proposed in the past. The Nova Scotia provincial government has designated the entire length of Highway 104 from Fort Lawrence to River Tillard as a "strategic highway" to qualify for federal cost-sharing of maintenance and future upgrades. This designation has also been applied to the remaining Trunk 4 corridor in Cape Breton along the south shore ofBras d'Or Lake from St. Peters to Sydney River. It is eventually envisioned that the Trans-Canada Highway will follow the entire length of Highway 104 from Amherst to Sydney River as a 4-lane freeway, upgraded from the existingtwo-lane freeway and uncontrolled access sections of the highway.[2]
Highway 104 was upgraded in various stages as follows:
The Province of Nova Scotia awarded theP3 contract that twinned a 38-kilometre (24 mi) section of Highway 104 between Sutherlands River and Antigonish to Dexter Nova Alliance.[7] As part the project, there was 28 kilometres (17 mi) of existing highway upgraded and a 10-kilometre (6 mi) new, realigned section; the bypassed section of Highway 104 between Barney's River Station and Marshy Hope reverted to being part of Trunk 4.[8][9] Construction began in the spring of 2020, with a completion date of July 25, 2023.[7]
A highwayrest area opened near distance marker 71 km (near the Cobequid Pass toll station) in 2025. There are washrooms and sitting-out areas on both sides of the highway.[10]
The province of Nova Scotia has proposed construction of a new 84-kilometre (52 mi) 2 lane arterial from the current end of Highway 104 at St. Peter's toHighway 125 atSydney.[11] This highway would travel mostly east of the current Trunk 4 and open as aSuper 2. It would serve as a bypass of Trunk 4 and likely take designation of the Trans Canada Highway rather thanHighway 105. When completed, this would provide nearly continuous controlled access highway across Nova Scotia on the Trans Canada Highway. Construction costs are estimated to be approximately $500 million and tolls have been proposed in the past. This project is currently not on the province's 5-year highway plan.[12]
 Trans-Canada Highway | ||
|---|---|---|
Previous routes.svg) NB Route 2.svg) Highway 106 | Highway 104 | Next route.svg) Highway 105 |
Routes of theTrans-Canada Highway system | ||
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| British Columbia–Manitoba | | |
| Ontario | ||
| Quebec | ||
| New Brunswick–Newfoundland | ||
| 100-series | |
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| Trunk routes | |
| Collector roads | |
| Scenic routes | |
