Angus L. Macdonald Bridge
| Angus L. Macdonald Bridge | |
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The Macdonald Bridge in May 2006. The North End can be seen in the background.
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| Coordinates | 44°39′49″N 63°35′05″W / 44.6637°N 63.5846°WCoordinates: 44°39′49″N 63°35′05″W / 44.6637°N 63.5846°W |
| Carries | Motor vehicles, pedestrians, and bicycles |
| Crosses | Halifax Harbour |
| Locale | Halifax Regional Municipality (Halifax — Dartmouth) |
| Official name | Angus L. MacDonald Bridge |
| Other name(s) | Macdonald Bridge The Old Bridge |
| Maintained by | Halifax-Dartmouth Bridge Commission |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Suspension bridge |
| Total length | 1.3 kilometres (0.81 mi) |
| Width | 11.5 metres (34.8 feet) |
| Height | 102.9 metres (337.69 feet) |
| Longest span | 441 metres |
| Clearance above | 54 metres (177.25 ft) at centre-span |
| Clearance below | 46.9 metres (153.87 ft) at centre-span |
| History | |
| Designer |
Philip Louis Pratley Henry Hugh Lewis Pratley Charles Nicholas Monsarrat |
| Construction begin | 1952 |
| Opened | April 2, 1955 |
| Statistics | |
| Daily traffic | 44,000 (2012) |
| Toll | $1.00 CAD cash / $0.80 MACPASS |
| MMSI 16261 | |
The Angus L. Macdonald Bridge, known locally as "the old bridge", is a suspension bridge crossing Halifax Harbour in Nova Scotia, Canada; it opened on April 2, 1955.
The bridge is one of two suspension bridges linking the Halifax Peninsula to Dartmouth in the Halifax Regional Municipality.
It is named after the former premier of Nova Scotia, Angus L. Macdonald, who had died in 1954 and had been instrumental in having the bridge built. The bridge was designed by Philip Louis Pratley, one of Canada's foremost long-span bridge designers who had also been responsible for the Lions Gate Bridge in Vancouver. The bridges have a similar design, which is most notable in the towers. The contractor was Dominion Bridge Company Ltd.
The bridge regularly experiences traffic congestion during rush hours as a result of the structure's proximity to the downtown cores of Halifax and Dartmouth, as well as its narrow width. Large commercial vehicles are not permitted to cross and must use the wider MacKay Bridge to the northwest. Public transit buses are allowed to cross and the bridge links several Halifax Transit routes. In 2014/15 the average number of vehicle crossings per month was 1,183,095.
As of 2015 the toll charge to cross for regular passenger vehicles is $1.00 cash or $0.80 with the MACPASS electronic toll system (60¢ tokens were once used but are no longer accepted as of May 1, 2008). The original toll, when the Macdonald opened in 1955, was 40 cents plus 5 cents per passenger. There was also a separate toll for trucks, cyclists, pedestrians, motorcycles and horses/rider.
Construction of the bridge took place between 1952 and 1955. Caissons were used for underwater work. Five workers died falling from catwalks during construction. The bridge opened on April 2, 1955, and originally cost $11.5 million.
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