Halifax's Macdonald bridge to be closed for more repairs

More work on Halifax's old bridge Work to replace an expansion joint will mean Macdonald Bridge will be closed at night next week. Bruce Frisko reports.

People who use Halifax's Angus L. Macdonald Bridge during off-peak hours are preparing for another long, inconvenient week.

Work to replace an expansion joint on the Dartmouth side is taking longer than expected, so the bridge will be shut down at night more often than it's open next week.

Mortgage broker Clinton Wilkins rarely has difficulty giving directions to clients who want to stop in.

Although his face on a billboard is one of the first things to greet drivers on the Dartmouth side of the Macdonald bridge, these days he's got a beef about the span -- which leads right to his doorstep.

"Our last appointment is at 6:00," Wilkins said. "So, if our clients aren't out of here by 6:30, 6:45, sometimes, you know, the bridge is closed and they have to drive around. It's an inconvenience."

In a city with increasingly heavy traffic on both bridges, any closures are bound to inconvenience some.

It's been the story for a while now.

The long-running "Big Lift" finally wrapped up last fall -- almost a decade after planning began. Although that job is done, the work isn't.

"The Big Lift" has been replaced by "the big bump" for a lot of drivers, who hit it twice a day.

It's an expansion joint, and it, too, needs replacing.

"The contractor has asked for four more nights to do the work, and so we're giving it to them, and once it's done, we'll be done with closures on the Macdonald bridge," said Halifax Harbour Bridges spokeswoman Alison MacDonald.

To that end, officials have announced a series of nighttime closures over the next week, timed to fit between the evening and morning rush hours.

Even the sidewalks and bike lanes will be off-limits, although shuttles will be standing by.

"It won't have any impact on me because I'm always coming from the Halifax side to the Dartmouth side before like 6:00, 6:30 in the evening," said Mike Robotham.

Tom Barlow says he'll "just take the ferry over to the Dartmouth side and keep walking."

For Wilkins, the week ahead will have a special set of challenges, and he's not particularly happy about that.

"I love doing business in Dartmouth, but I think having these closures during almost peak times is a bit of a challenge," he said.

He's keeping a watchful eye on the latest round of bridge closures and hoping to avoid another letdown.

Bridge officials insist this will be the last set of closures on the Macdonald this year, but Wilkins says he'll believe that when he sees it.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Bruce Frisko.