Macdonald Bridge closure leads to heavy traffic congestion in Halifax
CTV
The only vehicles on the Macdonald Bridge this weekend belong to work crews, with scheduled maintenance closing the span for the duration of the weekend.
The only vehicles on the Macdonald Bridge this weekend belong to work crews, with scheduled maintenance closing the span for the duration of the weekend.
“There’s extra traffic all around everywhere,” says motorist Jill Burke.
Especially around the approaches to the crossings where a number of routes converge into a bottleneck to get on the bridge.
To try to avoid the extra traffic, many chose to use the ferry rather than challenge the congestion on the MacKay.
“For someone who goes back-and-forth quite a bit between Halifax and Dartmouth, I find the closures that happen during the summer, they’re a bit inconvenient,” says Melanie Ross Breen.
“It wasn’t that bad getting down here today, but I find the worst time is when the Mackay Bridge is closed and everybody has to take the MacDonald Bridge. It’s a lot worse than when the Macdonald Bridge is closed and you have to take the Mackay,” adds Patrick O’Neill of Dartmouth.
This weekend’s closure also coincides with a Halifax Wanderers home game and the Shindig Music Festival. Both events taking place within a block of each other and drawing thousands of people into the centre of the city.
