![]() By March 2010, the remaining sections of the safety barrier had been installed. Subsequent computer modeling eliminated the previous concerns, and on the general manager and CEO of the Halifax-Dartmouth Bridge Commission, Steve Snider, announced that a tender for the long-called for extension of the barriers along the full length of the bridge would be issued in June 2009. Initially, the Halifax-Dartmouth Bridge Commission was concerned that the structure was not capable of handling the additional weight of installing safety barriers along the entire span of the bridge. In July 2007, as part of the settlement, barriers were installed along 22% of the pedestrian lane at the bridge's western end (Halifax abutment) to prevent suicide attempts and protect navy staff below. The lawsuit claimed that the issue had been exacerbated when chain link fencing on the bridge had been removed during the 1999 modernization. The DND first sought $527,000 in damages for its efforts to protect employees, an amount that was later increased to $1.04 million. In June 2004 the Department of National Defence filed a lawsuit against the Bridge Commission alleging that snow, ice, bottles and other debris rained down on HMC Dockyard below, endangering staff. Macdonald Bridge has attracted media attention as the spot where well known environmental activist Tooker Gomberg is believed to have committed suicide on March 3, 2004. The lighting was estimated by the bridge authority to cost in excess of $50,000 a year in 1999. Critics derided the effort as a waste of electricity, given Halifax Harbour's frequent foggy weather conditions. New pedestrian and bicycle lanes were attached to the outside of the structure to replace the original sidewalks.Įxternal aesthetic lights were added during the modernisation project which saw the bridge's towers lit for the first time on a continuous basis every evening from sunset until midnight. This deck is 35% lighter than the old one. To reduce the weight of the roadway, asphalt and concrete were removed and special steel plating (an orthotropic deck) was used in its place. 1999 modernization Ī modernization project was undertaken in the late 1990s and completed in 1999 which saw the original two lanes and one sidewalk and utility corridor expanded to three lanes, with the centre lane being reversible to assist with traffic flow during peak periods. The bridge opened on April 2, 1955, and originally cost $11.5 million. Five workers died falling from catwalks during construction. There was also a separate toll for trucks, cyclists, pedestrians, motorcycles and horses/rider.Ĭonstruction of the bridge took place between 19. The original toll, when the Macdonald opened in 1955, was 40 cents plus 5 cents per passenger. In 2014/15 the average number of vehicle crossings per month was 1,183,095.Īs of Januthe toll charge to cross for regular passenger vehicles is $1.25 cash or $1.00 with the MACPASS electronic toll system. Public transit buses are allowed to cross and the bridge links several Halifax Transit routes. Large commercial vehicles are not permitted to cross and must use the wider MacKay Bridge to the northwest. The bridge regularly experiences traffic congestion during rush hours as a result of the structure's proximity to the downtown cores of Halifax and Dartmouth, as well as its narrow width. The contractor was Dominion Bridge Company Ltd. ![]() The bridges have a similar design, which is most notable in the towers. ![]() ![]() The bridge was designed by Philip Louis Pratley, one of Canada's foremost long-span bridge designers who had also been responsible for the Lions Gate Bridge in Vancouver. Macdonald, who had died in 1954 and had been instrumental in having the bridge built. It is named after the former premier of Nova Scotia, Angus L. The bridge is one of two suspension bridges linking the Halifax Peninsula to Dartmouth in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Macdonald Bridge is a suspension bridge crossing Halifax Harbour in Nova Scotia, Canada it opened on April 2, 1955.
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