Halifax Harbour Bridges getting ready to remove tolls

Work is underway as Halifax Harbour Bridges prepares to remove tolls on the MacKay and Macdonald bridges as of April 1.

The removal of the $1.25 tolls, or $1 with a MacPass, was an election promise from the Progressive Conservatives that the party followed through on in its recent provincial budget.

Steven Proctor, communications manager with Halifax Harbour Bridges, says work is underway to remove the tollbooths on the two cross-harbour spans, but it’s not clear if that work will be complete before the tolls come off.

“We’re working as hard as we can to get those toll plazas down by April 1,” Proctor told 95.7 NewsRadio. “My key message to people is: when you get to the toll plazas, they will look different. They will either not be there or there will be work going on the remove them, but you will need to be paying attention.”

Proctor says it’s not clear if the removal of tolls will lead to higher traffic volumes on the bridges and they will be monitoring that once the tolls come off.

“We don’t know, but we’re certainly prepared for it if it does happen,” he said of the potential for more vehicles on the spans. “And we are concerned about the impact that would have on the MacKay bridge. The big difference will be big trucks, they put more strain on the bridge.”

There are also plans to increase patrols on the bridge amid some concern the removal of tolls could lead to more speeding, particularly on the MacKay.

The 2025-2026 provincial budget estimates about $36 million in lost revenue from removing the tolls. The province is also now turning the bridge commission into a new crown corporation.

Proctor says people will get refunds for any balance remaining on their MacPass and he’s encouraging customers to make sure their banking information is up to date to avoid any issues.