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Route 10

History

Route 10 has been in the system since the beginning of highway numbering in the province, but not without some massive changes. The original routing was simply a road around three sides of Grand Lake. In the 1940s, the completion of the new Richibucto Road from Fredericton to Ripples in the 1940s changed the western terminus of the route from McGowans Corner in Sheffield (where it followed present-day Route 670 to Ripples) to Barkers Point, now a part of Fredericton.

Route 10 was shortened on the east end around the same time, when Route 9 was realigned to follow the south shore of Grand Lake rather than an inland route through Cambridge, Narrows and Codys. Instead of ending at what is now the junction with Route 710, Route 10 ended at Youngs Cove.

Except for a small shortening of the route in Barkers Point caused by the opening of a Route 8 bypass in 1989, Route 10 remained relatively unchanged until the opening of the four-lane Trans-Canada Highway between Fredericton and Moncton in 2001. The highway was extended southeastward along Route 2's old alignment to Sussex, adding 47 km to the length of Route 10.

Guide

Route 10 begins at the outskirts of Fredericton, at a junction with the Route 8 bypass near the Princess Margaret Bridge in Barkers Point. The highway takes a beeline eastward on what is known locally as the Richibucto Road, passing two exurban subdivisions and ascending Popple Hill. After passing through the rural community of Noonan, Route 10 enters the Acadia Research Forest, the oldest forest research site in Canada.

Near the eastern boundary of the forest is the site of the Ripples Internment Camp, where prisoners of World War II (first Jewish refugees, later members of the German and Italian militaries) were held and forced to work in the forest. Little remains of it today except for a concrete structure on the side of the road that was once the base of a water tower, but a sign marks the location and a museum to commemorate the camp is located in Minto.

Upon leaving the forest, there is still little in the way of civilization (mostly forest and clear-cut land), except for a couple of intersections in the Ripples area, until you reach the outskirts of the village of Minto.

Minto is the centre of the coal-mining industry in New Brunswick. However, production at the many mines around the area has stopped to the point where there is only one mine left, due to the high sulphur content in local coal. NB Power, the government-owned electric utility, maintains a generating station on Grand Lake.

Route 10 turns north from Minto to Hardwood Ridge, a gateway to the large tract of uninhabited forest land immediately to the north and west, as well as a number of former coal mines. At Duffys Corner, the highway changes direction again, to go northeast along the Salmon Creek. Route 10 later leaves that road (which continues as Route 116, the Salmon River Road to Kent County) to turn east toward Chipman.

Chipman, located on the Salmon River near its mouth into Grand Lake, is a forest town. The major employer is a J.D. Irving sawmill, with the company having rights to harvest timer across a large expanse of land to the north, west and east.

Route 10 turns south from Chipman to follow the eastern shore of Grand Lake, passing some more abandoned coal mines. The route crosses an inlet of the lake at Coal Creek and skirts around Cumberland Bay at the community of the same name.

At Youngs Cove, Route 10 comes to a stop sign. Until 2001, this was the end of the route, at the Trans-Canada Highway (Route 2) . Not anymore. Route 10 now turns left (i.e. east) towards Sussex. An interchange with the new TCH is a few kilometres to the east.   

Route 10 decends a large hill into the village of Coles Island, which back in the days of the TCH, was home of one of the most dangerous stretches of highway in the country. Travellers on Route 112 sometimes ignore the stop sign, coupled with TCH travellers which ignored the flashing overhead lights at the intersection, causing some lethal accidents. Add to that the fact that many eastbound motorists turn left onto 112 at this point, as it was a shorter route from Fredericton to Moncton than the TCH, and the results were not pretty. As can be expected, traffic volumes have decreased significantly since the opening of the new highway.

Route 10 now turns southeast, through very rolling dairy farming country, ascending and descending Kierstead Mountain, along with smaller hills, and passing through the small village of Berwick. Finally, as the highway goes down one last hill and turns a corner, a shopping mall appears with the town of Sussex behind it, and Route 1 in front of it. Route 10 comes to an end at the bottom of the hill, at the Route 1 interchange. 

Junction List
 

Location	km	Routes / Destination	Other Notes
Fredericton / Barkers Point	0.0	Route 8 - Miramichi, Edmundston Greenwood Dr.
Richibucto Road	0.6	Melissa St. / Rockwood Way
Noonan	7.6	Noonan St.
Noonan	7.8	Morgan Lake Rd.
Burpee / Acadia Forest Station	17.9	Grub Rd.
Ripples	31.5	Ripples Station Rd.
Albrights Corner	33.0	Route 670 - Lakeville Corner, Sheffield Eighteen Rd.
New Zion	37.7	Rock Rd.
New Zion	41.7	Northfield Ave.
Minto	44.6	Main St. / Union St.
Minto	44.8	Summit Dr.
Minto	45.3	Route 690 / Lake Dr. - Grand Lake West
Minto	45.9	Bridge St.
Minto	46.8	Post Rd.
Minto	48.9	Northside Dr.
Hardwood Ridge	54.1	Demmons Rd.
Hardwood Ridge / Duffys Corner	57.5	Immigrant Rd.
Upper Salmon Creek / Humphreys Corner	60.5	Midland Rd. / Thompson Cross Rd.
Upper Salmon Creek	63.8	North Forks Rd.
Upper Salmon Creek / Fowlers Corner	64.6	Route 116 - Gaspereau Forks, Richibucto
Chipman	68.9	Pleasant Dr. / Lilloet Dr.
Chipman	69.9	Route 123 / Main St. - Doaktown	Route 10 turns south onto Main St.
Chipman	70.1	King St.
Chipman	71.5	Dufferin Rd.
Chipman	72.4	Northrup Dr.
Coal Creek	73.8	Kings Mines Rd.
Coal Creek	78.9	MacLean Rd. / Salmon River Mouth Rd.
Cumberland Bay	80.8	Avon Rd.
Cumberland Bay	83.1	Cox Point Rd.
Cumberland Bay	87.2	Cox Point Rd. / Cumberland Bay North Rd.
Cumberland Bay	87.8	Cumberland Bay South Rd.
Cumberland Bay	93.4	Cumberland Point Rd.
Youngs Cove	99.4	Cumberland Point Rd.
Youngs Cove	99.7	Route 105 - Mill Cove, Jemseg, Fredericton	Route 10 turns east
Youngs Cove	104.6	Bagdad Rd.
Coles Island	108.4	Route 2 - Fredericton, Moncton
Coles Island	111.1	Route 112 - New Canaan Route 715 - Cambridge-Narrows
Coles Island	112.5	South Canaan Rd.
Coles Island	114.8	Starkey Rd.
Long Creek	117.4	Route 710 - Codys, Cambridge-Narrows
Long Creek	118.6	Highfield Rd.
Long Creek	119.2	Goshen Rd.
Kierstead Mountain	125.7	Smith Rd.
Kierstead Mountain	127.2	Thompson Rd.
Kierstead Mountain	129.2	Gibbon Mountain Rd.
Kierstead Mountain	131.2	Route 870 - Belleisle Creek, Springfield
Pleasant Ridge	132.0	Pleasant Ridge Rd. / Snider Mountain Rd.
Berwick	135.9	Route 880 - Apohaqui, Havelock
Berwick	138.3	Mount Middleton Rd.
Roachville	142.3	Roachville Rd.
Roachville	143.9	Route 121 - Sussex / McGregor Brook Rd.
Sussex	144.2	Route 1 - Saint John, Moncton

(c) 1997-2007 J.P. Kirby. All rights reserved. Sign images from the Manual of Traffic Signs by Richard Moeur.