Macdonald Bridge closure and highway crashes frustrate drivers

Traffic in Dartmouth and Halifax clogged due to unexpected closure

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Caption: Brake lights along Highway 111 this morning during the busy commute. (Steve Lawrence/CBC)

The unplanned closure of the Macdonald Bridge on Friday meant mounting frustration for many drivers whose commutes unexpectedly doubled in length.
At 7:30 a.m., Halifax Harbour Bridges said it hoped the bridge would be open by 8:30 a.m. About 40 minutes later, the bridge commission tweeted that would not happen. It remains closed.
Not even paramedics were allowed across the Macdonald Bridge this morning.

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The Halifax Transit ferry shuttling commuters between Dartmouth and Halifax had lineups of people hoping to avoid the traffic on the MacKay Bridge.

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Several accidents, including a three-car crash on the Circumferential Highway leading to the MacKay Bridge caused more commuting problems.

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There was also a crash involving several cars on Highway 102 near the Hammonds Plains exit heading inbound.

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Dozens of people took to social media to vent their frustration. One person said what is usually a 30-minute commute took more than two hours.

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