MacKay bridge History:
The A. Murray MacKay Bridge, known locally as "the new bridge", is a suspension bridge linking the Halifax Peninsula with Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, and opened on July 10, 1970. It is one of two suspension bridges crossing Halifax Harbour, its counterpart, the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge, having been completed in 1955. The bridge carries on average 52,000 vehicle crossings per day,[2] and is part of Nova Scotia Highway 111.
The controversy of the MacKay bridge:
Political controversy preceded the construction of the MacKay Bridge when the city of Halifax expropriated residents from the community of Africville near the Halifax abutment. New highway interchanges were built with the northern end of Barrington Street, and an extension of Robie Street and the Bedford Highway (Trunk 2), as well as realignments of Highway 102 and Bayers Road. It was also necessary to realign some CN railway trackage in the area. Keep in mind people were forced out of their holmes and their community for a bridge to connect opposite municipalities.
Proposed Renaming:
The bridge is named after Alexander Murray MacKay, chairman of the Halifax-Dartmouth Bridge Commission from 1951 to 1971 and past chief executive officer of MT&T. MacKay was instrumental in having both the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge and his namesake structure built during his tenure at the commission.
Following the death of former Nova Scotia premier Robert L. Stanfield in 2003, there was a motion made to rename the MacKay Bridge to honour Stanfield, but the Stanfield family did not want any current structures already named for persons to be changed for Stanfield's sake. In 2007, the Halifax International Airport was renamed Halifax - Robert L. Stanfield International Airport; several new schools and other institutional buildings are also under consideration for Stanfield's name.
The cache is located on the path behind Memorial Drive and is in place of "Over the moon to Massachsetts" - the former cache occupying this area.
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