New Brunswick Route 8

Route 8
Route information
Maintained by New Brunswick Department of Transportation
Length:	255.4 km[1] (158.7 mi)
Existed:	1920s – present
Major junctions
South end:	Route 2 (TCH) near Fredericton
	Route 7 in Fredericton Route 10 in Fredericton Route 108 in Renous Route 11 in Miramichi
North end:	Route 11 in Bathurst
Location
Major cities:	Doaktown, Blackville, Miramichi
Highway system
Provincial highways in New Brunswick Former routes ← Route 7 Route 10 →

Route 8 is an important highway link between northern and southern New Brunswick, Canada. 255 kilometres long, it runs from Fredericton to Bathurst via Miramichi.

Route description

Route 8 branches apart from the Route 2 (the Trans-Canada Highway) west of Fredericton at the Fredericton West High Speed Connector. It follows the former TCH alignment to loop around the southern part of the city as a 4-lane freeway before narrowing to 2 lanes and crossing to the north side of the Saint John River on the Princess Margaret Bridge. North of Fredericton, the highway follows the east bank of the Nashwaak River as a 2-lane expressway to Marysville before reverting to a 2-lane local road and crossing to the west bank which it follows to Taymouth. From Taymouth, the road leaves the Nashwaak valley and climbs to the northeast to meet the Southwest Miramichi River at Boiestown. The highway then follows the river through Doaktown, Blackville and Renous. At Renous, the road becomes a 2-lane expressway. It crosses the Northwest Miramichi River at Newcastle and reverts to a local road after the junction with Route 430 in Newcastle. Within the City of Miramichi the highway carries the local name King George Highway and passes through the former towns of Newcastle and Douglastown. At Douglastown the highway interchanges with Route 11 at the north abutment of the Centennial Bridge where Route 8 turns northward as a 2-lane expressway. It bypasses the village of Allardville and has its northern terminus at an interchange with Route 11 south of Bathurst.

History

Route 8 was one of the original numbered highways in New Brunswick in the 1920s. The route changed little until bypasses were built on Fredericton's north side in 1982, between Renous and Newcastle in 1988, and between Bathurst and Allardville in 1990. The highway was extended south along the former Trans-Canada bypass of Fredericton in 2001. In November 2006, a two-lane bypass of a section of the former town of Newcastle opened between the Anderson Bridge (over the Northwest Miramichi River) and a junction with Route 430; providing easier access to the existing Route 117 bypass on the south side of the Miramichi River.

On 12 January 2008, seven high school basketball players and a teacher were killed in an accident when their van collided with a tractor-trailer near the Route 11 exit into Bathurst. The tragedy drew statements of condolence from Prime Minister Stephen Harper and provincial premier Shawn Graham.

Future plans

A bypass between the Fredericton suburb of Marysville and South Portage, north of Taymouth, is currently being constructed. Clearing and grading of the right-of-way for the bypass began in 2007.

Major intersections

Location	#	Destinations	Notes
Fredericton	3	Route 640 (Hanwell Road) to Route 102 – Fredericton
	5	Smythe Street	Southbound exit and entrance
	6	Route 101 (Regent Street) – New Maryland	Signed as exits 6A (south) and 6B (north)
	7	Route 7 to Route 2 (TCH) east – Oromocto, Saint John, Moncton
	9	Forest Hill Road
	10	Route 105 south	South end of Route 105 overlap
Gap in freeway
Renous	139	Plaster Rock-Renous Highway ( Route 108)
Derby Junction	163	Route 108 / (Route 420)
Miramichi (Douglastown)	180	McKinnon Road
Allardville	231	Route 160 / Route 360
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

• List of New Brunswick provincial highways

References

1. ^ New Brunswick Department of Transportation: Designated Provincial Highways, 2003