Construction set to begin in 2026 on Windsor Street Exchange in Halifax

Construction is underway to improve the Windsor Street Exchange in Halifax.

The Windsor Street Exchange is a bit of organized chaos. It’s busy most of the day but rush hour traffic can be frustrating.

“It’s one of a few gateways to get downtown onto the peninsula,” says HRM public affairs advisor, Jake Fulton.

Work is about to get underway to improve that commute. The ramp from Lady Hammond Road leading to Highway 111 and the MacKay Bridge will close later this month to prepare the site for future construction of the $150 million undertaking.

“Improving how vehicles flow through this intersection and the different types of vehicles, bikes, buses, private cars, how they all flow through that will improve safety and traffic, flow and access to the Peninsula, in and out,” Fulton says.

Forty-eight thousand vehicles pass through the main intersection daily, while 110,000 use the area within the project boundaries.

I think this is one of the most exciting projects in my view," says Ahsan Habib, a transportation professor at Dalhousie University.

Habib says for motorists it will be a case of short-term pain for long-term gain.

“This is one of the areas that connects at least three regions, Halifax, Bedford as well as Dartmouth, so the improvement that we are expecting will be higher than any other project that we have seen. It will alleviate the gridlock position that we always experience in that area, particularly at the peak hours.”

There is also a chance the anticipated detours and congestion could encourage people to leave their vehicles at home.

“The disruptions or the traffic issues brings people to find alternative ways to travel,” says Habib. “There might be more carpooling, there might be more using of regular transit buses.”

With the 3-year Cogswell Street project coming to a close, motorists will once again be asked for their patience as the city undergoes another lengthy road construction project.

It is anticipated work will start on the Windsor Street project in the spring of 2026 and it is expected to be completed by the end of 2028.

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