Traffic chaos - UPDATED

 There was traffic chaos in Halifax this afternoon, November 7, when authorities closed the Angus L. Macdonald bridge to all traffic including buses, cars and bicycles and pedestrians. (Trucks are never permitted to use the bridge.) The cause of the closure, at the request of the Department of Labour, was damage to a tower crane on an apartment building construction site adjacent to the bridge plaza on the Dartmouth side.

The Department of Labour is responsible for enforcing construction site safety, and has the authority to stop work on a project if it deems conditions to be unsafe.

As one of only two vehicle crossings over Halifax harbour, the Angus L Macdonald bridge is usually very busy, especially toward the end of the workday. If traffic is halted, the other bridge, the A. Murray MacKay, and the approach roads on both sides of harbour, become jammed. This will be the situation for some time as early reports indicate that the bridge will be closed until sometime tomorrow and periodically thereafter as the crane is dismantled. 

 

The auto carrier Morning Pilot passing beneath the Angus L. Macdonald bridge, September 15, 2024 as seen from Pier 9, looking southward.

As a precaution, marine traffic scheduled to pass beneath the bridge was also halted. The container ship NYK Romulus, inbound to the PSA Fairview Cove container terminal in Bedford Basin, was diverted to number one anchorage in the lower harbour to await clearance. Two other ships in Bedford Basin, the Oceanex Sanderling and MSC England are not scheduled to sail until tomorrow so may not be effected by the bridge closure. 

At time of making this post, 1930 hrs AST,  NYK Romulus was cleared to pass under the bridge, with the tug Atlantic Ash as stern tethered escort. (Weather conditions were clear, with no significant wind.)

The crane is visible in this July 20, 2024 view, directly above the tug Atlantic Ash,as it escorts the ZIM Condor southbound in the Narrows.

 

NYK Romulus in Bedford Basin July 25, 2022. 

Update:

The photo reference above in which I point out the crane was in fact incorrect. Another crane was installed much closer to the bridge since I took that picture. 

As seen from the Dartmouth side of the harbour, the crane, as of November 9, is still in place, but now more securely braced to the building it was working on. It will soon be taken down.

It appears that the if the crane had collapsed, it would likely not have effected the bridge span, but would possibly have landed on the toll plaza and the approach roadway. That is why vehicle traffic was halted, and why ship traffic beneath the bridge was permitted long before the traffic closure was lifted.

A photo from the Halifax side may show up in another post next week.

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