It’s become somewhat of a regular occurrence on the MacKay Bridge between Halifax and Dartmouth: large vehicles, too tall to fit under the concrete canopy, getting stuck at the toll booths.
“It can be quite frustrating at times, especially if you’re trying to get across, and it does cause a lot of traffic buildup,” said commuter Mary Bottomly.
When that happens, social media users in Halifax are quick to post images online, often with a joke about “resetting the counter.”
Steve Proctor, the communications manager for Halifax Harbour Bridges, said they’ve seen an “unusual number of canopy strikes this year.”
So far, 18 vehicles have struck the canopy. Last year, there were four during the entire year.
“It’s definitely been a dramatic increase,” said Proctor.
“We’re not sure why. Whether it’s people having been in COVID situations driving differently, or just driver inattention in a lot of the cases, people coming into the toll plaza too hot, too fast.”
The maximum height clearance for the MacKay Bridge is 4.1 metres.
Early warning system
When a vehicle hits the canopy, an investigation is carried out and usually ends up with the driver being ticketed.
All 18 strikes this year resulted in $400 tickets for destruction of bridge property, said Proctor.
The most recent canopy strike at the MacKay Bridge was on Wednesday.
“We’ve been looking at the problem for a number of weeks and months and looked at a variety of solutions, everything from signage, to markings on the pavement, and stuff like that,” he said.
“As the problem continued, we decided, OK, we need an early warning system.”
Proctor said over the next 60 days, the bridge authority plans to install clearance bars about 10 to 12 feet before the passageways on both the Halifax and Dartmouth sides, so those tall trucks will feel a “clunk” if they’re too big to fit through the bridge.
While those bars will be close to the bridge itself, Proctor said the vehicles should be slowing down any way and noted the speed limit at the tolls is 25 km/h.
“I think the whole problem can be solved if everybody was paying a little more attention as they’re approaching the tolls,” he said.
“If everybody’s paying attention we can help resolve the problem.”
Proctor said the eventual plan is to remove the canopies altogether, though that likely won’t happen for another couple of years.
“The long-term plan is to have a flow-through traffic any way using video tolling, where we’ll be able to get rid of the toll booth system,” he said.
“Do we want to put hundreds of thousands of dollars, or millions of dollars to altering these structures safely, closing the bridge so we can do the work? Or do we want to wait and hope that the tolling comes fairly quickly?”
— with files from Callum Smith
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