Two people seriously injured in MacKay Bridge crash; bridge closure leads to major traffic backlog

A collision on the MacKay Bridge in Halifax Tuesday morning sent two people to hospital with serious injuries and closed the bridge, causing major delays for commuters.

Halifax Regional Police says emergency crews responded to the collision, which involved three vehicles, just before 6 a.m.

Police say two people involved in the collision were taken to hospital, one with life-threatening injuries, and the other with non-life-threatening injuries.

“The collision itself was [in the] centre span of the bridge,” said Const. John MacLeod. “Because of the nature of the collision itself, it did encompass both lanes.”

With the bridge closed, commuters had to find an alternate route onto the peninsula. A stalled vehicle on the Dartmouth-bound approach to the MacDonald Bridge also caused delays.

“There is nothing you can do, man,” said motorist John LaChance. “There’s two bridges in Halifax and one is closed and the other is backed up.”

About 60,000 vehicles cross the MacKay daily and another 40,000 cross the MacDonald, according to Halifax Harbour Bridges – the crown corporation that operates both.

But the rush hour chaos was not limited to the bridge. MacLeod says several other collisions were reported.

The bridge closure caused significant traffic delays across the Halifax area Tuesday morning. Halifax Transit said buses were running up to 52 minutes late.

“Hold tight and just reduce the road rage,” driver Karen Forsyth-McNeil told CTV News.

Motorist Susan Peterson said the situation was “treacherous.”

“I came from Ketch Harbour and I've been stuck in traffic since 7 o'clock this morning just trying to get to physio up here on North Street,” said Peterson.

"It's really bad," said Hunter Whitchurch, who was trying to get to Agricola Street in Halifax's north end. "It took me about a half hour to get onto Bayers Road and then I spent about 25 minutes here on Almon Street."

The MacKay remained closed for almost four hours. It reopened around 9:45 a.m.

The Halifax Regional Police Collision Reconstruction Unit is investigating the collision.

No other details about the collision have been released at this time.