The second phase has begun to revitalize the Windsor Street exchange.
And that means a lot more construction is on the way.
However, Megan Soroka, project manager, says the impact on traffic this year will be “fairly insignificant.”
“Next year we’ll see some more significant changes happen. We’re still working through with the contractor on what that will look like, but we do have a plan to share that with the public as it becomes available,” says Soroka.
It will be three years before the project is mostly finished in 2029 and traffic will be flowing through the exchange more smoothly, with the new and improved layout. It will be widened to make room for rapid transit lanes, as well as walking and bike paths.
The project has jumped in cost since it was initially proposed, which prompted city council to nearly pause it and take another look.
Instead, they decided to split the project into two phases. The first began in October 2025 and included preliminary work to prepare for the overall project. According to the project website, that was necessary to stay on schedule and meet their federal funding requirements.
The current estimated total is now about $180 million, which will be paid in part by all three levels of government, as well as the Port of Halifax and Halifax Water.
Work on phase two began this July, and includes building the newly designed streets. That work should mostly be done by 2029, according to Soroka.
She says they are still finalizing the design for the north side of the highway. They need that in place before they can solidify their construction schedule, she says.
Meanwhile, Mayor Andy Fillmore says the construction may cause some headaches now but encouraged people to look to the future.
“Every day that we’re in construction, every day there is that flicker of frustration, we’re getting one day closer to a much more smooth-running, much more capacious Windsor Street exchange that will move goods and people faster and easier and with much less frustration,” says Fillmore.
Below are two additional renderings of what the Windsor Street exchange will look like when the project is done.
