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 currently 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 Phillip 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 occasionally 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 north-west. Public transit buses are allowed to cross and the bridge links several Metro Transit routes. Some Acadian Lines inter-city bus routes use the bridge to access the Halifax Railway Station. In 2005 the average number of vehicle crossings per day was 37,739.
Read more about Angus L. Macdonald Bridge: Modernisation Project, Suicide Barrier Controversy
Famous quotes containing the word bridge:
“I was at work that morning. Someone came riding like mad
Over the bridge and up the road—Farmer Rouf’s little lad.
Bareback he rode; he had no hat; he hardly stopped to say,
“Morgan’s men are coming, Frau, they’re galloping on this way.”
—Constance Fenimore Woolson (1840–1894)