

- Confederation bridge macpass drivers#
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Work began on the crossing, but in 1969, with cost estimates skyrocketing, Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau cancelled the project.īy the late 1980s, with the federal government facing ever-increasing costs of subsidizing ferry service to the Island, Ottawa called for “expressions of interest” from private companies interested in building, operating and maintaining a fixed link structure connecting PEI to the mainland. Although Diefenbaker lost the election, the subsequent Liberal government said it would go ahead with the project. The idea gained momentum again in 1962, when Prime Minister John Diefenbaker announced Ottawa would commit $105 million to build a causeway that would handle cars and trains. Over the years, ferry service improved with the construction of ships that could better handle the tough winter conditions in the Strait, but talk of a fixed link crossing was always in the background. A year later a delegation travelled from PEI to London to lobby for a railway tunnel, but those efforts fell on deaf ears.īefore Confederation Bridge opened in 1997, Borden-Carleton, Prince Edward Island was the eastern terminal of the Marine Atlantic ferry between New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.\r\n Howlan called for a tunnel-like structure that would lie on the ocean floor. In 1885, PEI Senator George Howlan first floated the idea of building a fixed link to the mainland. Vessels couldn’t handle the thick ice that jams the Northumberland Strait in the winter and ferry service was often disrupted for days.

In the early days that promise proved difficult to keep. Knowing the importance of maintaining links to the mainland, the Island’s political leaders insisted that a clause requiring the federal government to establish and maintain a service to convey mail and passengers to the Island year round be enshrined in the terms of Confederation. The factors leading to the decision to build a fixed link connecting Prince Edward Island to New Brunswick, and thus the rest of Canada, date back to 1873 and PEI’s decision to join Confederation. The toll will be $4 for the first trip but customers will not be charged for the return trip if completed within 36 hours.Confederation Bridge over a frozen Northumberland Strait. Though the MacPass is not exclusively for commuter customers, MacPass holders with passenger vehicles can still qualify for the commuter discount toll if they make both a northbound and southbound trip within 36 hours.
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Drivers should still watch for toll collectors and customers walking across lanes. MacPass customers can use toll lanes designated for MacPass by the overhead signs, or any open lane. MacPass account holders can also order new sticker tags online by logging into their account at ( instructions at New passenger vehicle MacPass accounts require an initial deposit of $80 and a $7 one-time set-up fee commercial accounts require a $200 deposit and the same $7 one-time set-up fee.
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They will need to provide the license plate number, make, model, color, and year of each vehicle that will be linked to the account, though new vehicles can be added later. Existing customers do not need to open a new account they can add a sticker tag to their existing MacPass account.Ĭustomers can obtain the sticker tags in the MBA administration building at the north end of the bridge around the clock, seven days a week. The stickers, which can be linked to a single account for multiple vehicles, cost $1 each. “During the pandemic, they’ve also appreciated the quick MacPass transaction time and touch-free toll paying.” “We continue to hear from our customers who love the new system and the convenience of not needing to stop and roll down their window to scan their MacPass card,” said MBA Executive Secretary Kim Nowack.

MacPass account holders along with new customers have been rapidly switching from the MacPass cards to the new stickers, and more customers are paying with the stickers now than cards.
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The stickers, which are automatically scanned when drivers pull up to the toll booth, were introduced in September 2019 as part of the MBA’s new toll software system. That’s why the Mackinac Bridge Authority (MBA) is retiring the old cards and urging MacPass account holders to make the switch before the end of the year. (WLUC) - The MacPass toll cards were good, but the new windshield-mounted stickers are better.
