Avon River (Nova Scotia)

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The Avon River is a small Canadian river in central Nova Scotia.

A northerly flowing river, the Avon River rises in the South Mountains southwest of the town of Windsor. Near the rural community of Martock, the river enters a broad glacial river valley and becomes tidal, creating an estuary for its remaining route to the Minas Basin several kilometres downriver from the town of Hantsport.

In 1970 the Avon River was obstructed by a causeway immediately downstream from Windsor at its junction with the St. Croix River as part of the development of a controlled access expressway called Nova Scotia Highway 101. This causeway also resulted in the rerouting of the Dominion Atlantic Railway's Halifax-Yarmouth main line which used to run through Windsor's downtown, crossing the river on a bridge immediately upriver from the town. The causeway controls the Avon River's discharge, and the tidal waters of the Minas Basin through a series of flood control gates, intended to regulate the river's flowage to prevent flooding of agricultural lands upriver near Martock. The section of the Avon River upriver of the causeway is now the freshwater Pesaquid Lake. The construction of the causeway has dramatically affected the Avon River downstream from Windsor, with large parts of the once-navigable river now being obstructed by large mud flats and vegetation, owing to the lack of tidal exchange and freshwater discharge.

Recently announced plans for the expansion of Highway 101 between the Halifax Regional Municipality and the eastern end of the Annapolis Valley have raised concerns about the Avon River causeway. An environmental lobby group, Friends of the Avon River, has called for studies into the possibility of removing the causeway entirely and carrying the expressway and railway line on a new bridge, allowing the natural flow of the river course to be reestablished.