More prohibited vehicles using Halifax bridge after tolls removed, commission says

With less concern of getting stuck, large commercial vehicle drivers might be getting more brazen about what bridge they use in Halifax. 

Halifax Harbour Bridges said in a social media post Wednesday that there's been an increase in the number of overweight vehicles using the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge since the toll plaza was removed.

"Just because the tolls are gone doesn't mean the rules are gone," said Steve Proctor, communications manager at the bridge commission.

Vehicles that weigh more than 3,200 kilograms are not allowed to cross the Macdonald Bridge. Instead, they have to use the A. Murray MacKay Bridge.

Enforcement staff have been ticketing between two and four commercial vehicles a day recently, which is double the number they typically hand out, Proctor said.

Ten tickets were issued to drivers of prohibited commercial vehicles for using the Macdonald last weekend when the MacKay was closed, he said. 

"I can't say we get every truck that goes through," said Proctor, though he added "enforcement is pretty consistent."

Tickets start at $230 and become more expensive for repeat offenders.

Proctor said Halifax Harbour Bridges has been working with the Nova Scotia Trucking Safety Association on awareness campaigns to make sure drivers know even though the tolls are gone from the Macdonald Bridge, they're still not allowed to cross. 

"It's about the safety of the bridge and the future and longevity of the bridge," he said. 

Toll plazas for both bridges were removed earlier this year, bringing to an end 70 years of paying to cross Halifax harbour.