Repairs for Cogswell Interchange before demolition

The Halifax Regional Municipality is spending nearly $300,000 to fix the notorious Cogswell Interchange even as it prepares to demolish it.

Earlier this week, municipal officials awarded acontract for repair work. They say thetangled roadwaysin downtown Halifax cannot sustain even a few more months of wear and tear.

Coun. Dawn Sloane said a request for proposals to dismantle the overpass and realign the roads will go out in September.

Sloane, the representative for the area, agrees the repairs are needed now, but she wants to see the demolition plan in action.

"I started talking about this in 2000 when I was first elected. We were getting close to doing something in 2005-06," she said.

"Now we're putting it back on the front burner, and this time I will say, 'Damn the torpedoes! It has to go.'"

Construction on the interchange began in the late 1960s. The structure was supposed to be part of Harbour Drive, a route running along the Halifax waterfront from Cogswell Street to Pier 21.

But that Harbour Drive plan was scuttled after residents complained that it would destroy too many heritage buildings.

In 2009, council voted to get rid of the overpass. A staff report at the time warned that maintenance costs would continue to climb while the benefits of keeping the interchange would continue to fall.

Sloanesaid itcould be a few years before the Cogswell Interchange is history.