Halifax’s busiest bridge to close for 2 straight weekends. Traffic headaches to follow

Those travelling across the Halifax Harbour over the next two weekends can expect a lengthier commute, as the 53-year-old MacKay Bridge will be closed as it undergoes critical repairs.

In a release published on Tuesday, Halifax Harbour Bridges (HHB) said the weekend work will see the replacement of two 10,000-kilogram deck sections after recent inspections discovered the cracking of steel plates in the identified areas.

As a result, the first bridge closure will begin on Friday, Nov 24. at 7 p.m. and wrap up the following Monday at 5:30 a.m. After five days of being opened back to the public, the bridge will then re-close on Friday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. for the second phase of repairs and re-open to traffic on Monday, Dec. 4, at 5:30 a.m.

Tim Rissesco, CEO of the Downtown Dartmouth Business Commission, said he hopes the bridge closures won’t have a major impact on the area’s annual Christmas tree lighting on Dec. 2.

“What I fear is that when people hear a bridge is closed, it deters them from going out,” he said, adding that despite the disruptions, he recognizes the importance of maintaining both bridges.

“On the other side, (it) happening during the holiday season is tough for business.”

The construction is expected to cause some interference to traffic flowing to and from the peninsula, most notably during the annual Parade of Lights which is scheduled to take place Saturday evening in Halifax.

On the other side of the harbour, Paul Mackinnon, CEO of the Downtown Halifax Business Commission, said although he’s confident the bridge closure won’t negatively affect the parade turnout too severely, he hopes enough will be done to inform people about the potential traffic disruptions.

“The parade is such a juggernaut and part of everyone’s holiday schedule, so I think they’ll find a way to get here,” he said.

“The biggest concern is if people don’t know it’ll be a little bit slower, and (if) they arrive a bit late or have trouble.”

Steven Proctor, the communications manager for HHB, said an “emergency repair” was done following the discovery of the deteriorating section of steel earlier this year — which kickstarted the planning process to permanently replace two large sections on the bridge.

“They’re basically the size of two transit buses side by side,” he said.

“We’re bringing in a 100-t0nne capacity crane to pull out the piece and put in the new piece. The crane is at least three-and-a-half lanes wide, so there’s no way we can do a two-lane closure.”

Maintenance work isn’t an irregular occurrence on the MacKay Bridge, as these are the eighth and ninth panels to be replaced on the structure since 2010 and according to Proctor, they are the largest.

In a statement, HHB CEO Tony Wright said more bridge closures “are going to be necessary as the structures require an increasing amount of maintenance as they age,” referring to additional efforts throughout the last decade to revitalize Halifax’s adjacent MacDonald Bridge.

The rise in bridge maintenance work over recent years has caused some discussion surrounding the future of these two bridges, particularly the MacKay.

HHB has said it is looking at expanding from four lanes to a six-lane bridge, with dedicated lanes for public transit and an additional sidewalk and bikeway. That long-term project has been estimated to be more than $1 billion.

Bridge engineers are currently “studying options” for the current rehabilitation effort.

Regarding short-term solutions, Rissesco shared what he said could be an incentive to ensure consumer traffic is maintained while simultaneously encouraging public transit usage.

“Maybe there’d be an opportunity to provide free ferry service during that time, get people out of their cars and take transit and commute between the two downtowns,” he said.

“It’d be particularly a gift for the downtowns if we could celebrate the lead-up to Christmas and the closure of the bridge with free ferry service on the weekends.”

Part of Rissesco’s calls were partially answered on Thursday afternoon, as Halifax Transit announced that ferry service at the Alderney Terminal in Dartmouth will be free from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday.

MacKinnon said temporary bridge closures resulting in such an impact on people’s ability to commute in Halifax is an example of the municipality needing to advance its infrastructure development to keep up as a “rapidly growing city.”

“We’re not keeping up in terms of infrastructure,” he said.

“We should be looking very seriously at a new ferry, we’ve talked about one in Bedford … we think the Halifax and Dartmouth ferry should be running on a 15-minute schedule. It should be free and easy to use.”

MacKinnon said he’d consider any improvement to transit as a great investment.

“The city’s got ambitious plans for a new transit network … but that seems to be very slow to be implemented,” he said.

“If we want to keep growing, we need to get our transportation right.”

As for those travelling across the harbour this weekend, Proctor said to “plan ahead.”

“Leave early, plan on being late, have car snacks … it applies to both weekends, obviously with this weekend with the Parade of Lights, it’ll be a little busier,” he said.

Alternative routes

As the MacKay bridge gears up for two weekends’ worth of closures, there are several other routes drivers can take when commuting between Halifax and Dartmouth including:

1. The Macdonald Bridge, although heavier traffic is expected on the lone operating bridge as a result of maintenance work on the MacKay;
2. The 28.5 kilometre Bedford Highway route which connects drivers directly from Barrington Street in Halifax to Windmill Road in Dartmouth;
3. Drivers leaving from Dartmouth and headed towards Halifax can take the NS-102 highway which connects to the Bedford Highway and takes drivers into downtown Halifax. You can also connect through the Fall River exit and then taking Waverley Road.
4. The Alderney Ferry will operate on its regular weekend schedule, with free rides occurring every 15 minutes from 3:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Saturday.
5. Swimming! We do not advise.

— with files from Global News’ Rebecca Lau