Lights out on MacKay Bridge leaves commuters in the dark

The Mackay Bridge is a part of thousands of Halifax-area drivers’ daily commute to work. Roughly 60,000 vehicles make the trip across the bridge each day.

But recently, some drivers have been left in the dark.

“This is 33 out of 197 lights, so admittedly there are places where it’s been a little darker than it has been,” said Steve Proctor, communications manager with Halifax Harbour Bridges.

About six months ago, the Mackay Bridge saw two of its street lights stop working. In order to prevent lane closures, the commission left those lights off.

Then a few weeks ago, another group of lights stopped working as well. Proctor said the outage was due to old lights.

“We did some investigations and the challenge is, of course, ten years of lighting technology has changed,” said Proctor. “The lighting is no longer available, so we can’t just do a swap kind of thing.”

Commuter Bryn Davies frequently travels to Dartmouth using the Mackay Bridge for work. She said the lack of lights when driving to the bridge is a safety concern, especially for seniors.

“We have a very large elderly population here. It’s dark and [their] eyesight may be not as good,” She said “It’s a lot harder to see, especially if they’re having to cross the bridge. It’s just not comfortable to be in pitch black, up high and you can’t see anything.”

Proctor said the lights have a ten-year warranty and the bridge commission is looking for solutions.

“We’re dealing with the same supply issues as everybody else and we’re trying to resolve it as quickly as possible. Is that two weeks or a month? I don’t know,” he said.

Interchanges near the bridge like the one at Victoria Road are also seeing some changes. Halifax Harbour Bridges is adding reflective tape along the ramps.

“We had to take out the mast lighting because it was a risk that the lighting was showing signs of wear [caused by] the wind,” said Proctor.

With supply chain issues being cited as a cause for delays, Halifax Harbour Bridges will have its internal meeting on Tuesday to determine other possible alternatives, including reaching out to the city or another bridge authority.