Nova Scotia government orders study to assess MacKay bridge replacement

Should the MacKay bridge that spans Halifax Harbour be repaired, rebuilt, or replaced with a tunnel?

That’s the question the Nova Scotia government wants to answer with an engineering assessment and consultation.

“This is due diligence,” said Public Works Minister Fred Tilley.

“We know we have the time to do this right. And if we’re going to do it, we need to make sure that we build a corridor for the future.”

The A. Murray MacKay Bridge is one of two bridges between Halifax and Dartmouth. It opened in July 1970 and is expected to hit the end of its life around 2040.

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Tilley says his department is looking to hire a company to take on the 18-month study project that will provide details on the context and current state of the bridge. It will also assess possible crossing options, preliminary designs, and identify cost and procurement possibilities.

The last study on the future of the bridge in 2021 estimated its replacement would cost more than $1 billion.

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“At the end of the day, getting this report, it’s going to provide information as to what would be the most appropriate option for the transportation corridor over the Narrows,” said Tilley.

He added that if any of the options require Africville lands, it will be a “non starter.”

Last month, Halifax Harbour Bridges (HHB) issued a tender for an engineering study to be done for the bridge’s deck and rehabilitation options for the next 75 years.

All this has opposition parties criticizing the PC government for delaying and postponing much-needed work.

Interim Liberal Leader Iain Rankin called it an example of the province “kicking the can down the road.”

“We have limited time to get this right,” said interim Liberal Leader Iain Rankin in a statement.

“Just like the Halifax Infirmary redevelopment and the Atlantic Loop, this government continues to show it can’t deliver major infrastructure projects that Nova Scotians can count on.”

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NDP Leader Claudia Chender says she questions whether the Tim Houston government is taking the project seriously.

“People deserve to know when the work will begin, how this government plans to pay for it, what federal funding it’s pursuing, and how it will build a crossing that reduces congestion and supports our region’s growth in the decades ahead,” she said in a statement.

The MacKay and the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge are operated by Halifax Harbour Bridges, which is a division of the Crown corporation, Link Nova Scotia.

Halifax Harbour Bridges CEO, Tony Wright, says the study announced Friday is a step in the right direction because a lot has changed since that 2021 report.

“We now need to recast this in the current light and … put some evidence in front of government to make some decisions here about the future of the MacKay,” he said.

Peter Hackett, the deputy minister for Link Nova Scotia, says the purpose of this new study is to ensure the structure is ready for the future needs of Halifax Regional Municipality.

“We don’t know what the city will look like by that time, but we’re trying to future-proof the bridge or tunnel or whatever the structure might be,” he said.

The new report is due back to the government by May of 2028.