Decades worth of paint to be stripped off Macdonald Bridge towers

Anjuli Patil · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 14, 2025 2:56 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

Halifax Harbour Bridges volition soon statesman the process of removing 7 decades of overgarment from the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge's 2 towers arsenic portion of a two-year task to safeguard its alloy infrastructure.

A quality release Monday said the work, dubbed Project LifeSpan, volition impact stripping the towers bare of accumulated overgarment to let for "thorough inspections and immoderate required repairs to guarantee their structural integrity for the adjacent 70 years." 

The towers volition beryllium wrapped successful a protective enclosure to forestall overgarment chips, spray and debris from falling into the harbour oregon onto the span oregon adjacent properties portion painters and steelworkers are working, Steve Proctor, a spokesperson for Halifax Harbour Bridges, told CBC News successful a telephone interview.

The Dartmouth operation volition beryllium finished this twelvemonth and the Halifax operation is expected to beryllium completed successful 2026.

The task volition require four play closures of the Macdonald Bridge — besides known arsenic the Old Bridge — this twelvemonth for the operation and removal of a level that volition abstracted the enactment country from postulation connected the span deck, the quality merchandise said.

Upcoming play closures

The archetypal closure volition statesman Friday, April 25, astatine 7 p.m. Proctor anticipates the second closure volition beryllium successful May, depending connected however the archetypal proceeds. The different 2 volition apt beryllium successful November and December, helium said.

Halifax Harbour Bridges says the A. Murray MacKay Bridge volition ever beryllium unfastened erstwhile the Macdonald is closed.

Proctor said different parts of the Macdonald Bridge person had overgarment antecedently stripped off, but it volition beryllium the first clip for the towers since the span opened successful 1955.

Given the brackish h2o conditions and years of layering overgarment successful spot touch-ups and tiny repairs, "there's bound to beryllium moisture underneath determination truthful determination decidedly volition beryllium immoderate corrosion that they're going to person to look after," Proctor said.

The two-year task is valued astatine astir $70 million, 85 radical volition enactment connected it and 95 per cent of the supplies volition beryllium bought successful Nova Scotia, Halifax Harbour Bridges said.

Price tag includes some years, overgarment and repairs

Proctor said the $70 cardinal includes some years of the project, the repairs and the caller paint.

He said the task has been successful the works for 3 years.

Liberty Blastech, a Nova Scotia associated task company, was selected to bash the work. Halifax Harbour Bridges notes the company's partners "have extended acquisition coating bridges."

"Doing coating removal astatine 90 metres supra oversea level requires a definite level of skilled individual, truthful this institution has that skill, has Nova Scotia painters moving with them, Nova Scotia supplies, that benignant of thing," Proctor said.

Keeping eyes connected the road

More than 40,000 cars, tiny trucks and buses transverse the Macdonald Bridge daily.

While the enactment is being undertaken, Halifax Harbour Bridges is urging radical to thrust carefully.

"Because portion it volition beryllium an intriguing concern to spot dozens of radical climbing up the tower, you person to wage attraction to your driving," Proctor said.