Halifax’s Macdonald Bridge closed this weekend
Posted Oct 26, 2018 01:21:30 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Macdonald Bridge will be closed to traffic this weekend as crews finish work on an ongoing project to replace the structure's bearings.
The closure will start on Saturday morning at 7 a.m. and reopening Monday morning at 5:30 a.m.
This weekend is exceptionally busy, with the Halifax Mooseheads home game opener, Hal-Con Comic Convention, and the Christmas Craft Show in Dartmouth.
Steve Snider, CEO of Halifax Harbour Bridges spoke with NEWS 95.7's Rick Howe about why the work is happening on such an event-filled weekend.
“Undoubtedly this is inconvenient. We do work hard to minimize the number of times we close these bridges. What we're looking at right now is this is the culmination of this year's work on bearing replacements.”
The bearings are a necessary part of the structure and Snider said the work can't be done in cold temperatures and high winds.
“We're now to the point where it's the end of the season. They've been preparing for this for four to five weeks and the weather is starting to set in and so unfortunately we have to go ahead with this.”
There will not be a shuttle service running this weekend as the sidewalk and bikeway will remain open, said Snider.
“In terms of work, bridges are like houses, we've got to keep on maintaining them so that they're available to the public.”
As for the separate Big Life project, Snider anticipates all the work will be done within the next few months, but that doesn't mean the end to bridge closures.
In late November and early December, a few overnight closures are expected during the week.
