 Route 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peacekeeper's Way Pitts Memorial Drive | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Transportation and Infrastructure | ||||
| Length | 34.2 km[1] (21.3 mi) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |  Route 60 in Conception Bay South | |||
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| East end | Hamilton Avenue / New Gower Street in St. John's | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | Canada | |||
| Province | Newfoundland and Labrador | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Route 2, also known as Pitts Memorial Drive and Peacekeeper's Way, is a 34.2-kilometre-long (21.3 mi) freeway on the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The road provides a direct link from the Trans-Canada Highway (TCH) to downtown St. John's, Newfoundland, which was previously accessible only via city streets such as Topsail Road or Kenmount Road (which was part of the TCH until the Outer Ring Road was built). Initially called the Harbour Arterial, construction began in the early 1970s and was completed in 1979. The $52-million project was funded[2] by the federal and provincial governments. It was renamed by the city council in 1984 after local businessman James Stewart Pitt (1847-1914).[3]
The road bypasses Mount Pearl to the south and then runs parallel to the Waterford River on an embankment/cutting along the Southside Hills. It enters the downtown on a concrete viaduct that carries it over the Waterford River valley and the terminus of the former Newfoundland Railway. At the end of the viaduct, it meets New Gower Street which continues into downtown St. John's.
As a major route into and out of the city, the road is subject to heavy traffic and has had its share of unfortunate incidents and shutdowns.[4][5][6]
- ^ "Route 2 in Newfoundland and Labrador" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
- ^ "Street Names, Monuments, Areas, Plaques" (PDF). City of St. John's. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
- ^ "A History of St. John's City Council". Retrieved 2008-02-02.
- ^ "Man charged after high-speed chase in oncoming traffic". CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. December 24, 2007. Retrieved 17 November 2008.
The RNC said the car then sped — in the wrong lanes — down Pitts Memorial Drive at more than 130 km/h.
- ^ "Pitts Memorial lanes shut down over accident". CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. October 21, 2007. Retrieved 17 November 2008.
The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary temporarily closed traffic in westbound lanes of Pitts Memorial Drive following an early morning accident.
- ^ "Goodbye blizzard, hello flooding". CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. January 28, 2005. Retrieved 17 November 2008.
In St. John's, the eastbound lane on Pitts Memorial Drive – the arterial that connects the downtown with the Trans-Canada Highway – was closed because of flooding.