As part of its 2025 budget, Nova Scotia has announced it will be removing tolls on the two bridges spanning Halifax Harbour as of April 1.
During the election campaign last fall, Tim Houston promised if his PC party was re-elected to a second term, it would remove the tolls on the A. Murray MacKay and Angus L. Macdonald bridges.
Tolls on both bridges range from $1 for those with passes to $1.25 for drivers who pay cash at the toll plazas.
Houston said at the time the promise would cost about $40 million a year, but should alleviate traffic congestion and save time for drivers.
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It’s estimated 110,000 vehicles cross the two bridges daily.
Steven Proctor, spokesperson with Halifax Harbour Bridges, said the elimination of tolls means the MACPASS electronic tolling system obsolete. Drivers can get rid of the stickers or hard-shell transponders as of April 1, and the toll plazas will eventually be removed.
“It’s going to look a little bit different without the MACPASS-only lanes and the cash lanes. The alignment is likely to look a little different so be cautious, be kind to people who are just encountering this for the first time, he said.
Almost $86 million is allotted for planned work and repairs to the bridges. Public Works said this will mainly be preservation work on the Macdonald Bridge towers, which will see the towers get stripped and repainted to safeguard the suspension bridge’s steel infrastructure.
Once the tolls are eliminated, Halifax Harbour Bridges will no longer meet the definition of a Government Business Enterprise, and its financial results will be consolidated.
“The consolidation of HDBC tangible capital assets has the effect of a one-time increase to the Net Debt of the Province of $300 million in 2025-26,” according to the budget document.
In total, the province’s net debt is is projected to increase by $2.7 billion in 2025–26 to $22.4 billion.
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