Damaged Crane Forces MacDonald Bridge Closure

USPA NEWS - For those who live in the Halifax Regional Municipality, using one of the two suspension bridges to cross the Halifax Harbour has become a routine part of their daily commute. With today's fast paced world placing more demands on our daily lives, every minute seems to count ,and many people who find themselves woven into city life become frustrated with traffic delays that urban driving can create.

Residents of the Halifax Regional Municipality are not unfamiliar with traffic delays and late arrivals to work and other important events. Whether sitting in bumper to bumper traffic on the Bedford Highway, sitting in traffic on the Bi-Highway behind construction or traffic at a standstill on the Circimfrencial Highway due to an accident on the bridge, traffic delays can become very frustrating. A traffic problem in one part of the city often has a ripple affect across many other parts of the surrounding communities. On Thursady, November 7th, 2024, the closure of the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge during evening rush hour caused traffic headaches for thousands of commuters. Here is what we know as to the cause of the bridge closure.

The Angus L Macdonald Bridge, was shut down to pedestrians, cyclists and all vehicles just ahead of the Thursday evening rush hour. This was due to a damaged construction crane, and the span remained closed overnight.

A Halifax Harbour Bridges (HHB) spokesperson advised that engineers were investigating and trying to determin the stability of a construction crane at a building near the Dartmouth side of the MacDonad bridge. Just after 3 p.m, HHB released the following statement, "Halifax Regional Police are on the scene around the area of Faulkner Street. In addition to the bridge, the area around Faulkner Street, Lyle Street, Windmill Road and Wyse Road were also shut down. The bridge will remain closed until HHB is advised the situation is safe. Nova Scotia Department of Labour spokesperson Sarah MacNeil, said, "We closely monitoring the incident and investigating the matter. Three stop work orders have been issued: one for the crane, a second for taking the crane down once it is stabilized, and a third for the evacuation making sure no work takes place on the site as well as two construction sites close by. Occupational Health and Safety officers are monitoring the situation, and in communication with emergency services"

The Macdonald Bridge reopened early Friday morning after the damaged construction crane near the Dartmouth end of the bridge forced it's closure the day before.

With the population of the Halifax Regional Municipality growing rapidly, there are now more cars on the city streets and highways than ever before. With the high traffic volume, the slightest little traffic snarl is definitely felt throughout the region. This has been met with calls for commuters to become more reliant on public transportation, car pooling, walking, and cycling. With the promise of new electric buses and ferries, some politicians are beginning to get behind the idea of free public transit in hopes to entice citizens to utilize alternative means of transportation other than personal vehicles, thus reducing frustrating traffic delays and congestion.