The head of Whitbourne’s fire department welcomes the expansion of divided highways and says it will make things safer for both the public and first responders.

Transportation Minister John Abbott told VOCM News yesterday that federal funding to twin the Trans Canada west of Whitbourne has been secured, and the project could get underway in the coming months.

Fire Chief Jamie Budden says the expansion is long overdue and believes it will end up saving lives.

“A lot of our more serious accidents that we respond to are west of Whitbourne,” says Budden. He expects a divided highway will reduce the number of collisions and ultimately save lives.

Budden says it will also be safer for emergency crews responding to active scenes as they’ll only have to worry about traffic approaching from a single direction.

He says the move over law is great, but it’s often not respected by drivers who speed by the scene of an accident. Budden says his department has seen many close calls over the years on single lane highways, and when he has the staffing, he’ll assign someone with keeping an eye on traffic, along with blocking the scene with their trucks.