New Brunswick Route 102

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New Brunswick Route 102
Length: 156.96 km[1] (97.5 mi)
Formed: 1965
North end: Route 2 (TCH) in Longs Creek
Major
junctions:
Route 101 in Fredericton
Route 2 (TCH) in Upper Gagetown
Route 124 in Evandale
Route 177 in Westfield
South end: Route 7 in Westfield
Major cities: Fredericton, Oromocto, Gagetown

New Brunswick Route 102 is a highway that follows the west bank of the Saint John River for 157 kilometres from Longs Creek to Westfield. Most of the route is colloquially (but not officially) known as the Old River Road, as it was the original road connecting Fredericton and Saint John.

A stretch of Route 102 in Evandale, New Brunswick
A stretch of Route 102 in Evandale, New Brunswick

The section from Longs Creek to Fredericton, a former alignment of the Trans-Canada Highway (Route 2), became part of Route 102 in 2000. This section begins at the interchange of Routes 2 and 3, following the river past Woolastook Park and the Mactaquac Dam through Kingsclear. The route enters Fredericton on the Woodstock Road, then follows Brunswick Street or a riverfront parkway known as St. Anne's Point Drive (depending on direction) through the downtown area, leaving on Waterloo Row. Route 102 continues to follow the river along Lincoln Road, passing the Fredericton Airport and reaching the town of Oromocto.

Route 102 continues along the river through Burton, Gagetown, Hampstead, Evandale and Browns Flat to reach Westfield. An extension of the route was built in the 1980s to meet with Route 7. At Gagetown, Hampstead and Evandale, small, toll-free, cable ferries connect Route 102 to the other side of the river.

As the River Road, the present-day Route 102 (then a part of Route 2) was the first road connecting Fredericton and Saint John to be paved, ahead of the Broad Road (the present-day Route 7). With the alignment of the Trans-Canada Highway bypassing Saint John, and the upgrades of the Broad Road in the 1950s taking most traffic off of the River Road, its importance as a major traffic route diminished. The River Road became Route 102 in 1965.