New Brunswick Route 8
Encyclopedia
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
.
(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.
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
.
and South Portage, north of Taymouth
, is currently being constructed. Clearing and grading of the right-of-way for the bypass began in 2007.
!Location
!#
!Destinations
!Notes
|-
|rowspan=6|Fredericton
|3
|
|-
|5
|Smythe Street
|Southbound exit and entrance
|-
|6
|
|Signed as exits 6A (south) and 6B (north)
|-
|7
|
|-
|9
|Forest Hill Road
|-
|10
|
|South end of Route 105 overlap
|-
!colspan=4|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
Highway
A highway is any public road. In American English, the term is common and almost always designates major roads. In British English, the term designates any road open to the public. Any interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network", or a...
link between northern and southern New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. 255 kilometres long, it runs from Fredericton to Bathurst
Bathurst, New Brunswick
Bathurst is a Canadian city in Gloucester County, New Brunswick.Bathurst is situated on Bathurst Harbour, an estuary at the mouth of the Nepisiguit River at the southernmost part of Chaleur Bay....
via Miramichi
Miramichi, New Brunswick
Miramichi is the largest city in northern New Brunswick, Canada. It is situated at the mouth of the Miramichi River where it enters Miramichi Bay...
.
Route description
Route 8 branches apart from the Route 2New Brunswick Route 2
Route 2 is a major provincial highway in the Canadian province of New Brunswick, carrying the main route of the Trans-Canada Highway in the province...
(the Trans-Canada Highway
Trans-Canada Highway
The Trans-Canada Highway is a federal-provincial highway system that joins the ten provinces of Canada. It is, along with the Trans-Siberian Highway and Australia's Highway 1, one of the world's longest national highways, with the main route spanning 8,030 km...
) 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
Princess Margaret Bridge
The Princess Margaret Bridge, sometimes called the Princess Margaret Rose Bridge or shortened to just PMB, is a 2-lane highway bridge crossing the St. John River at Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada...
. North of Fredericton, the highway follows the east bank of the Nashwaak River
Nashwaak River
The Nashwaak River located in west-central New Brunswick, Canada; is a tributary of the Saint John River. It is 113 kilometres long. The river rises from Nashwaak Lake and flows south and east through uninhabited land and rapids to the village of Stanley...
as a 2-lane expressway to Marysville
Marysville, New Brunswick
Marysville is a Canadian suburban neighbourhood in the city of Fredericton, New Brunswick.Located in the northeast end of the city, Marysville is situated on the Nashwaak River 5 kilometres north of its confluence with the Saint John River...
before reverting to a 2-lane local road and crossing to the west bank which it follows to Taymouth
Taymouth, New Brunswick
Taymouth is a community in York County in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The former school has been turned into the Taymouth Community Centre, in which one upper floor room has become a fitness centre....
. From Taymouth, the road leaves the Nashwaak valley and climbs to the northeast to meet the Southwest Miramichi River
Southwest Miramichi River
The Southwest Miramichi River is a Canadian river in New Brunswick.The river has its origin in Carleton County, at Miramichi Lake in the Miramichi Highlands . Its two branches join near the village of Juniper, NB...
at Boiestown
Boiestown, New Brunswick
Boiestown is a Canadian rural community in Northumberland County, New Brunswick.It is situated on the Southwest Miramichi River approximately 60 kilometres northeast of Fredericton, near the province's geographic centre....
. The highway then follows the river through Doaktown
Doaktown, New Brunswick
Doaktown is a Canadian village in Northumberland County, New Brunswick.-History:It is situated on the Southwest Miramichi River and was first settled in 1807 for use as a base for the growing lumber industry in central New Brunswick...
, Blackville
Blackville, New Brunswick
Blackville is a Canadian village in Northumberland County, New Brunswick.It is located on the Southwest Miramichi River approximately 40 kilometres southwest of Miramichi.-Economy:...
and Renous
Renous, New Brunswick
Renous is a Canadian rural community in Northumberland County, New Brunswick.Located where the Renous River discharges into the Southwest Miramichi River, Renous makes up part of the local service district of Renous-Quarryville....
. At Renous, the road becomes a 2-lane expressway. It crosses the Northwest Miramichi River
Northwest Miramichi River
The Northwest Miramichi River is a Canadian river in New Brunswick. The Mi'kmaq referred to the river as Elmunokun, possibly meaning "a beaver hole" in reference to a deep pool in the river, just below the mouth of the Big Sevogle River, its largest tributary.The Northwest Miramichi River has its...
at Newcastle and reverts to a local road after the junction with Route 430 in Newcastle. Within the City of Miramichi
Miramichi, New Brunswick
Miramichi is the largest city in northern New Brunswick, Canada. It is situated at the mouth of the Miramichi River where it enters Miramichi Bay...
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
New Brunswick Route 11
Route 11 is a provincial highway in northeastern New Brunswick, Canada. The 430-kilometre long road runs from Shediac to the Quebec border near Campbellton at the Interprovinciale Bridge, following the province's eastern and northern coastlines....
at the north abutment of the Centennial Bridge
Centennial Bridge (New Brunswick)
Centennial Bridge is an arch truss bridge crossing the Miramichi River in Northumberland County, New Brunswick, Canada. The bridge is 1.1 km long, and carries New Brunswick Route 11 over the river, connecting Douglastown on the north bank with Chatham on the south bank; both communities were...
where Route 8 turns northward as a 2-lane expressway. It bypasses the village of Allardville
Allardville, New Brunswick
Allardville is a Canadian rural community in Gloucester County, New Brunswick.Located south of Bathurst, the community is named for Monsignor Jean Joseph August Allard....
and has its northern terminus at an interchange with Route 11
New Brunswick Route 11
Route 11 is a provincial highway in northeastern New Brunswick, Canada. The 430-kilometre long road runs from Shediac to the Quebec border near Campbellton at the Interprovinciale Bridge, following the province's eastern and northern coastlines....
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 NewcastleNewcastle, New Brunswick
Newcastle is a Canadian urban neighbourhood in the city of Miramichi, New Brunswick.Prior to municipal amalgamation in 1995, it was an incorporated town and the shire town of Northumberland County....
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
Northwest Miramichi River
The Northwest Miramichi River is a Canadian river in New Brunswick. The Mi'kmaq referred to the river as Elmunokun, possibly meaning "a beaver hole" in reference to a deep pool in the river, just below the mouth of the Big Sevogle River, its largest tributary.The Northwest Miramichi River has its...
) and a junction with Route 430; providing easier access to the existing Route 117 bypass on the south side of the Miramichi River
Miramichi River
The Miramichi River is a Canadian river located in the east-central part of New Brunswick. The river drains into Miramichi Bay in the Gulf of St. Lawrence...
.
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
New Brunswick Route 11
Route 11 is a provincial highway in northeastern New Brunswick, Canada. The 430-kilometre long road runs from Shediac to the Quebec border near Campbellton at the Interprovinciale Bridge, following the province's eastern and northern coastlines....
exit into Bathurst
Bathurst, New Brunswick
Bathurst is a Canadian city in Gloucester County, New Brunswick.Bathurst is situated on Bathurst Harbour, an estuary at the mouth of the Nepisiguit River at the southernmost part of Chaleur Bay....
. The tragedy drew statements of condolence from Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
and provincial premier Shawn Graham
Shawn Graham
Shawn Michael Graham, MLA is a New Brunswick politician, who served as the 31st Premier of New Brunswick. He received a Bachelor of Physical Education Degree in 1991 and a Bachelor of Education Degree in 1993, he worked for New Brunswick's civil service before being elected to the Legislative...
.
Future plans
A bypass between the Fredericton suburb of MarysvilleMarysville, New Brunswick
Marysville is a Canadian suburban neighbourhood in the city of Fredericton, New Brunswick.Located in the northeast end of the city, Marysville is situated on the Nashwaak River 5 kilometres north of its confluence with the Saint John River...
and South Portage, north of Taymouth
Taymouth, New Brunswick
Taymouth is a community in York County in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The former school has been turned into the Taymouth Community Centre, in which one upper floor room has become a fitness centre....
, is currently being constructed. Clearing and grading of the right-of-way for the bypass began in 2007.
Major intersections
{| class=wikitable!Location
!#
Exit number
An exit number is a number assigned to a road junction, usually an exit from a freeway. It is usually marked on the same sign as the destinations of the exit, as well as a sign in the gore....
!Destinations
!Notes
|-
|rowspan=6|Fredericton
Fredericton, New Brunswick
Fredericton is the capital of the Canadian province of New Brunswick, by virtue of the provincial parliament which sits there. An important cultural, artistic, and educational centre for the province, Fredericton is home to two universities and cultural institutions such as the Beaverbrook Art...
|3
|
|-
|5
|Smythe Street
|Southbound exit and entrance
|-
|6
|
|Signed as exits 6A (south) and 6B (north)
|-
|7
|
|-
|9
|Forest Hill Road
|-
|10
|
|South end of Route 105 overlap
|-
!colspan=4|Gap in freeway
|-
|Renous
Renous, New Brunswick
Renous is a Canadian rural community in Northumberland County, New Brunswick.Located where the Renous River discharges into the Southwest Miramichi River, Renous makes up part of the local service district of Renous-Quarryville....
|139
|Plaster Rock-Renous Highway (
Route 108New Brunswick Route 108
Route 108 is a highway in New Brunswick, Canada; running from Trans-Canada Highway exit 75 near Grand Falls to Route 8 exit 163 at Derby Junction ; a distance of 202.9 kilometres.- Routing :...
)
|-
|Derby Junction
|163
|Route 108 / (Route 420)
|-
|-
|Miramichi
Miramichi, New Brunswick
Miramichi is the largest city in northern New Brunswick, Canada. It is situated at the mouth of the Miramichi River where it enters Miramichi Bay...
(Douglastown)
|180
|McKinnon Road
|-
|-
|Allardville
Allardville, New Brunswick
Allardville is a Canadian rural community in Gloucester County, New Brunswick.Located south of Bathurst, the community is named for Monsignor Jean Joseph August Allard....
|231
|Route 160 / Route 360