About 100 Halifax residents in an evacuation zone around a construction crane that was deemed at risk of falling have been allowed back into their homes Friday morning, after repairs were made overnight.
About 18 people from 10 households registered with the Canadian Red Cross at the community centre on Margarets Bay Road, which was used an evacuation centre for the night.
Halifax fire says it was called in at around 4:40 p.m. Thursday to assess the stability of the construction crane at 3644 Dutch Village Rd.
According to the municipality, the crane was “upright but deemed to be unstable.”
Police blocked the local street and safety officers with Nova Scotia’s Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration were called to the scene.
“There’s an engineer on site developing a site plan and cranes have been summoned to come to the site,” Halifax fire Assistant Chief Philip Thorburn told Global News Thursday evening.
“That [unstable] crane had to come down to the ground so we’re just asking that if people can stay out of the area, let construction engineers do their work so people can go home.”
The municipality said the scene was considered safe as of 7:30 p.m., and a repair plan for the crane was being developed in consultation with the crane company.
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As of 5 a.m. Friday, the municipality said an on-site safety officer with the province had verified the engineer’s report that the crane had been repaired.
The roads were opened and people were let back into their homes.
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
