MacKay Bridge delays, Macdonald closure cause weekend traffic pain

Drivers trying to cross Halifax Harbour over the weekend faced significant delays due to MacKay Bridge construction work and the closure of the Macdonald Bridge.

The bridge commission is promising that kind of weekend backup will not happen again in the foreseeable future. 

The Macdonald Bridge was closed over the weekend as part of the Big Lift redecking project. A team from the contractor American Bridge was working on the structure. 

Also on Saturday, lanes on the MacKay Bridge ramp had to be reduced due to an unrelated construction project. 

Work had to be done on ramp

Alison MacDonald, a spokesperson for Halifax Harbour Bridges, said the bridge commission apologized for the delays but the work had to be done during daylight hours, because it involved concrete setting at particular temperatures. 

She said closing the Macdonald at the same time was unavoidable due to the Big Lift work, but that the work on the MacKay was completely finished and there will not be a repeat of the past weekend. 

The contractor on the Big Lift project had originally planned to raise the 31st deck segment this past weekend. 

However, the team said it needed more time to get familiar with a new deck-fitting process and the segment will instead be inserted during the coming weekend. 

Big Lift continues

The remaining deck segments to be fitted are those closest to the Halifax side, over the navy shipyards. 

Those segments are being fitted using a different process than previous segments. They won't be lifted from a barge in the harbour, but are lifted from the ground. 

MacDonald said after the 31st segment, the team will replace two or three segments per weekend. 

The project is still considered on track to finish fitting all segments by the end of 2016.