Halifax-Dartmouth Bridge Commission
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The Halifax-Dartmouth Bridge Commission is a Nova Scotia provincial agency responsible for operating, maintaining, and constructing bridges over the harbour of Halifax, Nova Scotia and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. They also have authority over any bridges over the Northwest Arm, although no such bridge currently exists.
Bridges
The Angus L. Macdonald bridge, known locally as the Macdonald bridge or the "old bridge", was opened on April 2, 1955. The bridge was designed by Phillip Pratley, a bridge designer also responsible for the Lions Gate Bridge in Vancouver. The Macdonald bridge often suffers from traffic problems due to its narrow width, and a lane addition project was completed in the late 1990s.
The A. Murray MacKay Bridge, also known as the Mackay bridge or the "new bridge", was opened on July 10, 1970. It is located to the north of the Macdonald bridge, at the Narrows of Halifax Harbour. The bridge is part of the Circumferential Expressway.
A new bridge?
The subject of a third harbour bridge has come up several times in the past few decades, in several different locations. Traffic engineers in the 1950s originally envisioned a third bridge connecting downtown Halifax to the southern terminus of Nova Scotia provincial highway 111, and this idea is still being considered today to help to alleviate traffic on the Macdonald bridge.The Northwest Arm has also been considered as a potential site for a new bridge as early as the 1950s. There is some opposition to this in the wealthier South End, which would be affected by increased traffic.
External links
- [Halifax-Dartmouth Bridge Commission]
- [MACPASS, the commission's electronic tolling system]
- [Halifax-Dartmouth Bridge Commission Act]
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