Halifax Harbour Bridges aims to stop big vehicles from crashing into toll booths

Halifax Harbour Bridges (HHB) is hoping to prevent large vehicles from crashing into the toll booths at both of the city's bridges.

Steve Proctor told CityNews Halifax that these incidents have been happening at an increased frequency this year.

“Particularly late spring [or] summer, more than any time in history,” he said. “Last year, there was a total of four across all the bridges through the whole year. Through this summer and this season, there's been 18.”

To counteract the rise in toll booth crashes, Proctor said HHB is in the process of installing clearance bars.

He said HHB hopes to have them up and operating by the next 60 days.

The maximum height to pass under the concrete canopies 3.6 metres, so the clearance bars will likely be installed at around 3.4 metres.

They'll also give drivers lots of warning since they'll be installed around 10 feet in front of the actual toll booth.

If someone is driving toward the tolls with a larger vehicle, they'll end up hitting the clearance bar and, hopefully, have enough time to realize they won't safely pass under the concrete canopies.

On the MacKay Bridge, there are two types of toll gates: ones for smaller cars near the centre of the booths and ones for larger vehicles on the sides.

When drivers — oftentimes new drivers to large vehicles — crash into the smaller booths, it's usually because they miss the in-place warning signs.

Proctor said that for the past few years, certain indicators such as warning signs and truck-only lanes have worked effectively. But now, a new system is needed.

“We have had some damage,” he said. “Some signs have been needed to be replaced and stuff like that. But thankfully, there hasn't been any huge structural damage. I can't say the same for some of the vehicles.”

This year, Proctor said everyone who has been involved in these collisions has ended up receiving a $400 fine for damaging a bridge property.

In other cases, investigations have led to additional tickets being issued. For instance, sometimes a driver doesn't have a license to operate a larger-sized vehicle.

A variety of vehicles have been caught in these incidents including moving trucks, Halifax Transit buses and other large transport trucks.

When a crash occurs, Proctor said the first step is to ensure the safety of everyone involved. Then, there's a full inspection and the removal of the vehicle to allow traffic to flow.

“Anytime there's an accident on the bridge, there's a ripple effect through the entire traffic patterns through the city,” said Proctor.

He said the concrete canopies won't be removed at the moment because HHB is working on implementing a cashless payment system based on license plates, meaning there will be new changes coming to the toll plaza.