Drivers will be paying more to cross Halifax Harbour by bridge in the new year.
The province’s Utility and Review Board (UARB) has approved an application from Halifax Harbour Bridges (HHB) to up its tolls for regular passenger cars and commercial vehicles.
The changes take effect on Jan. 3, 2022.
The price of a crossing on the Macdonald or MacKay bridges for a passenger car will increase by 20 cents for those using a MacPass — from 80 cents to $1. Drivers using cash will see an increase from $1 to $1.25.
Meanwhile, there is also a 25 per cent increase per axle to the toll for commercial vehicles.
HHB said in its application that the rate increase was the first request it had made in 10 years, and that it was necessary to fund its 10-year capital rehabilitation and maintenance plan.
The $280-million plan includes fixing parts of the 66-year-old Macdonald Bridge that were not replaced as part of the Big Lift project a few years ago, rehabilitating the concrete superstructure of the 51-year-old MacKay Bridge and replacing the electronic toll collection system.
As well, HHB plans to study and create a preliminary design to replace the MacKay.
A hearing was held by the UARB in June and a decision was released Monday.
The board said in its decision it found the bridge commission’s estimates for the 2021-2031 capital plan “appropriate and reasonable.”
During the hearing, the board heard that “traffic growth assumptions” were critical in the financial projections, and that the “COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on traffic volumes.”
“Traffic volumes between April 1, 2020, and December 31, 2020, decreased on average by 24.5%. The Commission noted that it does not expect traffic to return to pre-pandemic levels until 2024,” the decision summarizes.
“The Commission projects that after 2024 traffic is expected to increase by 0.5% per year based on the cumulative average increase in bridge traffic over the 24-year period ended March 31, 2020.”
The financial projections in the application were based on two toll increases. The second one is proposed to come into effect in April 2026.
That second toll increase would be subject to another UARB hearing in the future.