Roads and Sidewalks

Roads

Municipally-Owned Roads

The Municipality owns and maintains a number of roads. If you live on a municipal road and have a maintenance or repair issue, please contact the Infrastructure & Operation Department. Municipally-owned roads are:

Provincially-Owned Roads

Roads that are owned by the Province have a green, reflective road name sign. These roads are maintained by the Province, including plowing in the winter and repairs in the summer. If you live on a road owned by the Province, contact the Nova Scotia Department of Public Works (NSDPW) with questions or concerns.

J-Class Roads

J-Class roads are roads owned by the Province but fall under a cost-sharing agreement between the Province and municipalities.  General maintenance, like snow plowing and filling potholes, fall under the responsibility of the NS Department of Public Works (NSDPW). 
 
J-Class roads are unique in that the Municipality of Chester contributes funding towards road maintenance through a 1995 Service Exchange Agreement between the Province and all rural municipal units. Towns and regional municipalities (like Cape Breton Regional Municipality) have different arrangements with the Province. The agreement requires the Municipality to pay half of the cost related to the upgrade in paving or resurfacing J-Class roads. Each year, Council prioritizes and submits a list of potential J-Class roads for resurfacing for approval. NSDPW evaluates our list, along with lists submitted by other municipalities, and considers its capital budget allotted to J-Class roads ($1,000,000 in total). NSPDW then advises the Municipality which roads on our priority list are approved for paving or resurfacing.

A link to a list of J-Class roads in the Municipality of Chester can be found on the right.

Privately-Owned Roads

Privately-owned roads have a white road name sign with black lettering. If your road is privately owned, it is not a municipal or provincial responsibility. You need to determine who the owner is or if there is a home owners’ association.

From time to time, residents request that the Municipality collect a "maintenance area rate" from all the residents living on that road. We collect the rate on their behalf and then remit it back to an association or person responsible on an annual basis. In this case, a petition must be submitted to the Municipality. All petition inquiries should be directed to the Finance & Information Services Department at 902-275-3554.

In some cases, residents would prefer that the Municipality assume responsibility of their private road. Before that can happen, the road must meet municipal specifications. More information can be found in the Municipal Specifications document.

Sidewalks

The Municipality is responsible for sidewalks in these locations:

• Chester Basin
• Chester Village
• Hubbards
• Mill Cove
• New Ross
• Western Shore

Municipal Specifications

Municipal Specifications refer to municipal standards required for the construction of the following systems:

• Central and small sewer systems
• Central water systems
• Municipal public roads
• Storm drainage

In order for the Municipality to assume responsibility for any of the above systems, they must meet these specifications first and then be approved by Council.