Macdonald Bridge 'bump' for Big Lift slows traffic in Halifax

Commuters crossing the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge are facing frustrating delays due toa large bump that's emergedas result of the Big Liftproject.

The bump is what Halifax Harbour Bridges calls a traffic plate. It covers the area where the new deck segment of the bridge meets the old deck segment. The problem is the bump is slowing and backing uptraffic.

"The bump is a ride, the traffic is a terrible ride," commuter Colin Crawford tells CBC News.

He has been back and forth over the bridge several times since the bump was installed.

"It's impressive. You're coming forward and then it just drops down and you take like a ramp and it's like a three-foot drop, maybe more. Then you start coming back up and you hit a speed bump."

The Big Liftis a $150 million project that will see 46 deck sections on the bridge replaced. Each old section will be removed and then a new piece lifted in to replace it.

The first section wasreplaced over the weekend and the bridge was supposedto be up and running again early Monday morning.

Contractors ran into delays, however,that kept the bridge closed for an extra 3hours and led to big traffic delays.

The project, which has more than 40 weeks to go before it's finished,is expected to extend the life of the bridge by 70 years or more.