MacKay Bridge's lifespan is almost up, but what happens next isn't clear

Elizabeth McMillan · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 14, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

The A. Murray MacKay Bridge that spans Halifax harbour is wearing out, leaving immoderate large decisions up implicit the adjacent fewer years.

The committee that runs the span that opened successful 1970 says gridlock-inducing closures for repair enactment volition go much communal the longer it's successful use, but it's inactive not wide whether the span volition beryllium replaced oregon refurbished. 

"We're predicting attraction to substantially summation implicit the adjacent mates of years, conscionable origin it was designed arsenic a 50-year span and present we're successful twelvemonth 55," said Tony Wright, the main enforcement serviceman of Halifax Harbour Bridges. 

"It's nearing the extremity of its work life. And truthful by 2035, 2040, we expect the level of attraction required to support it operational, we'll beryllium getting small worth for wealth astatine that point. So we're truly looking astatine the agelong term." 

Wright said enactment volition beryllium done astatine nighttime oregon by closing 1 lane astatine a clip whenever that's possible, but immoderate afloat shutdowns are inevitable.  

There is simply a play closure for maintenance starting July 25, 1 of 4 expected this year. 

Unclear if toll removal impacting traffic

Upwards of 115,000 vehicles typically transverse the 2 suspension bridges connecting Halifax and Dartmouth each time — with much than fractional of them utilizing the MacKay, which shoulders the heavier commercialized traffic. 

When the premier announced earlier this twelvemonth that the span tolls would beryllium removed, immoderate experts cautioned that the determination would thrust up traffic.

Wright said it's not yet wide whether that has happened since the tolls came disconnected March 17 due to the fact that they're inactive validating information gathered by caller cameras. Halifax Harbour Bridges utilized to show postulation done the tolling system.

More important than the fig of vehicles though, Wright said, is installing a strategy to measurement the magnitude of value crossing the bridges due to the fact that the load "impacts features similar the integrity of the platform system." 

"We're truly funny successful knowing immoderate changes successful commercialized postulation growth. We cognize the metropolis has adopted electrical buses. Those vehicles measurement astir doubly arsenic overmuch arsenic accepted buses … and vehicles are getting heavier," helium said. 

This means immoderate summation successful commercialized postulation volition summation the deterioration and teardrop connected the span and velocity up the request for maintenance.  

Kathryn Morse, the councillor for Halifax-Bedford Basin West who sits connected the bridge's committee of commissioners, said she is acrophobic astir that happening and is looking guardant to seeing information erstwhile it's available. 

"The bridges are the astir captious portion of proscription infrastructure successful the city, they are truly cardinal to getting a grip connected each our postulation issues," she said, adding that it's besides important to cognize the semipermanent plans for the aging structure.  

"One caller example, it's hard to program the Windsor Street speech without knowing the implications of what's happening with the bridge," Morse said. 

New span versus retrofit 

A 2018 feasibility survey by the engineering consulting steadfast COWI North America looked astatine 9 antithetic scenarios for extending the bridge's usage oregon gathering a caller structure. It recommended constructing a new, somewhat longer span northbound of the existing bridge, with six lanes of postulation and 2 progressive proscription lanes. 

But Wright says that study was "very precocious level." Aecon Group, a operation and engineering company, was hired subsequently to survey what precisely refurbishing the span would involve. 

"What we're talking astir present present is doing … some preliminary engineering. How would you bash a rehab of the deck? How would you bash the Big Lift? What are your options?" helium said.

"That's a overmuch much in-depth analysis. And I deliberation we request to bash that … due to the fact that we're dealing with specified a important outgo here." 

Though the survey isn't done, Wright said it's wide upgrading the operation would beryllium analyzable — the attack spans request enactment and the deck's thickness is good beneath the existent Canadian standard.

"You would person to fortify, fortify the main towers, you'd person to marque definite the foundations tin withstand that further loading. You'd person to instal a caller main cablegram oregon supplementary main cable. and past you're acceptable to bash your large lift, nary of which had to hap connected the Macdonald."

A retrofit could outgo betwixt $600 and $700 million, portion a caller span could beryllium treble that, helium said, but called immoderate estimates "a small premature."

"Eight lanes, six lanes, 4 lanes, what does it request to transportation truly drives the cost. We don't person that accusation yet. So, I deliberation estimating caller span costs contiguous is simply a small premature.… This is wherefore we request to get connected with this concern case." 

Those aren't the lone 2 options considered, either. Wright said a steadfast specializing successful tunnels recovered 1 nether the harbour would person to commencement astatine Highway 111 adjacent Burnside and spell each the mode to the Windsor Street exchange — meaning it would beryllium 3 times arsenic agelong arsenic the MacKay Bridge, and tunnels are typically 5 times arsenic costly to build.  

Ultimately, it'll beryllium up to the state to see the costs, the interaction connected postulation disruption and the lifespan of the caller task erstwhile choosing the champion route, helium said. 

Any enactment volition instrumentality time.

Planning and procurement tin instrumentality 3 to 5 years and operation enactment could instrumentality different six to 10 years, impacted by the availability of specialized labour, Wright said, which puts the timeline astatine the extremity of the MacKay's work life. 

"I don't privation it to spell excessively overmuch beyond that due to the fact that past you're truly fundamentally forced into a rehab concern that you're not readying for and that's what we're trying to avoid," helium said.

WATCH | Replace oregon refurbish? Fate of MacKay Bridge yet to beryllium decided: