Halifax bridge tolls to be removed two weeks ahead of schedule

The two bridges spanning the Halifax Harbour will be toll-free two weeks earlier than originally planned.

The tolls were scheduled to come off the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge and A. Murray MacKay Bridge on April 1 as the Nova Scotia government takes over the Halifax-Dartmouth Bridge Commission.

The province now says the bridges will stop collecting tolls at 5 a.m. on March 17.

Both bridges will close some weekends as the toll booths are removed.

The Macdonald Bridge will be the first to close after the evening commute on March 14.

Work will then shift to the MacKay Bridge, but both bridges won’t close at the same time.

Crews will remove the toll booths, concrete barriers and electrical equipment, resurfacing roadways and reconfiguring lanes.

The tolls have been in place since the opening of the Macdonald Bridge 70 years ago.

More than 200,000 Nova Scotians have MACPASS transponders. Anyone with a remaining balance on their accounts after the toll removals will be refunded.

Premier Tim Houston promised to eliminate the tolls during last fall’s election campaign in an effort to ease traffic congestion.

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