“The bridge commission did and still does, and it’s underwritten and guaranteed by the province.” “My goal in that context was that if it’s a separate authority it would be able to issue its own debt,” says McLellan. The ability of the independently run bridge commission to borrow money in order to fund major projects looked like an attractive model. In the early 2000s, Halifax was struggling to cobble together funds for a harbour clean-up. Since amalgamation, the idea of integrating all the region’s transportation services–transit to streets to highways to bridges–under a regional authority has come up at various times and even briefly made it to theįormer Halifax chief administrative officer George McLellan-now deputy minister for Nova Scotia’s finance and treasury board-took a run at the idea of a transit authority a couple of times during his tenure with the city. Should it? As the Big Lift takes off, it’s time to figure out if this city still needs a bridge commission.Īfter replacing the bridge deck, the MacDonald will be raised 2.1 metres higher than it stands today. Rather than being shared between the distinct cities of Halifax and Dartmouth, now the harbour’s bridges fell squarely within the borders of the new Halifax Regional Municipality. The commission helped open the Macdonald in 1955, followed by the A. Two councillors (“aldermen” at the time) from each city and five provincial appointees made up the board. An unbiased organization taking on the construction of the harbour-spanning Angus L. When the commission first formed in 1950, Halifax and Dartmouth were two separate cities.
More of a rarity is a bridge commission-an independent entity dedicated strictly to the care and construction of bridges. There’s no shortage of bridges in Canadian cities. Created by and ultimately reporting to the provincial government-with fees regulated by the Utility and Review Board-the bridge commission mostly runs its own ship. Snider is CEO of the Halifax-Dartmouth Bridge Commission, a crown corporation with its own board of directors. Nor, technically, does he work for the province. Snider heads up an organization that looks after two key pieces of Halifax’s infrastructure, but he doesn’t work for the city. It’s a massive undertaking, and one that Steve Snider says benefits from “direct and complete attention.” Shuttle service begins this weekend, but deck segment replacement won’t start until August. This will mark only the second time a suspension bridge will have its deck completely replaced while remaining open to traffic during the day.
It’s taken years of planning to put together The Big Lift. Nova Scotia Light and Power Company’s trolley buses provided the first public transportation across the harbour span.
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