Construction work on Halifax bridge results in holiday weekend closure

A little extra time and patience will be required if you’re travelling between Halifax and Dartmouth, N.S., this weekend.

The Macdonald Bridge will be closed for the duration of the Labour Day long weekend.

Steve Proctor, communications manager for Halifax Harbour Bridges, says closing the bridge for the holiday weekend was not the number 1 option.

“We had a lot of hesitation. It was a last resort kind of thing,” says Proctor.

Repaving that had been scheduled for earlier this summer, but was cancelled because of weather, is the reason for the closure.

“There are certain construction requirements in terms of temperature and dry enough to get the work done and we just haven’t been able to get it done,” says Proctor.

Halifax Harbour Bridges has an annual budget of $4 million. However, this weekend’s work will come out of their 10-year, $280 million project budget.

Getting the work done over the holiday weekend will cost more, according to Proctor.

“There is absolutely an added cost,” Proctor says.

“We had to pay a top-up to the workers who are on the bridge to get them away from their family and their loved ones.”

The toll lanes for the MacDonald Bridge in Halifax are pictured on Sept. 1, 2023.

The bridge will be open to pedestrians and cyclists who are being asked to share the bike lane.

Local businesses hope the closure doesn’t keep people from visiting downtown Dartmouth.

“There is maintenance that needs to be done and hopefully it won’t affect the businesses and people will be comfortable to come across in other ways, whether they drive through the other bridge or if they’re able to come across on the ferry or transit,” says Kate d’Entremont, the marketing coordinator for Downtown Dartmouth.

“There’s also the hope that the people who are already in Dartmouth will then stay downtown and actually come to the businesses downtown and spend their money there and enjoy their weekend.”

Maintenance closures on the 68-year-old bridge are nothing new. Some motorists say they will deal with it like they always do.

“I’ve been used to it closing weekends and I know they’re making repairs that are very important,” says Dartmouth resident Billy Stewart.

One hundred and twenty thousand vehicles are expected to cross the MacKay Bridge this weekend.

This will be the last time the Macdonald Bridge will be fully closed for the construction season.

The MacDonald Bridge will close at 7 p.m. Friday and reopen 5:30 a.m. Tuesday. All toll lanes on the MacKay Bridge will be open this weekend to help with the flow of traffic between Halifax and Dartmouth.

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