Climate activists with Extinction Rebellion have announced they'll be blockading the span on Monday, Oct. 7 at 7 a.m. in hopes of raising awareness about the climate crisis

Halifax Harbour Bridges (HHB) is expressing concerns about a protest being planned Monday morning on the Macdonald Bridge.

Climate activists with Extinction Rebellion have announced they'll be blockading the span on Monday, Oct. 7 at around 7 a.m. in hopes of raising awareness about the climate crisis.

"If they do show up and they do block the bridge, it will be very problematic for this city," said HHB CEO Steve Snider. "To take one bridge out of service during a peak period of travel will be extremely challenging."

Snider said even a half hour long disruption during could result in hours being added to the morning commute of many Haligonians.

"My concern is for the safety of the travelling public," he said. "If we have emergency response vehicles that are trying to get through to respond to emergencies or to transport people, that will be very difficult."

This isn't the first time a protest has shut down the span to traffic. Earlier this year, around 100 people participated in an Indigenous rights march, which closed the bridge off for about an hour, but it wasn't during a weekday commute.

"We respect free speech ... we accommodated a group to walk across the bridge during a non-peak time, in fact it was a weekend event. It occurred on a Saturday morning with minimal disruption," said Snider.

One of the organizers of Monday's demonstration, Patrick Yancey, told NEWS 95.7's The Rick Howe Show earlier this week, that the "bridge out" is one of over 60 events being planned around the world.

"This is a very minor inconvenience that we hope will avert a very major inconvenience in the future, which would be massive food shortages and societal collapse to due the climate catastrophe," Yancey said.

Halifax Regional Police (HRP) will be keeping a close eye on the event. Officers are going to be on scene Monday morning to make sure protesters, commuters and bridge workers are all safe.

"It's important for obvious reasons to maintain a critical path there for transportation, both for emergency vehicles and commuters," said HRP spokesperson Cst. John MacLeod.

MacLeod added people do have the right to demonstrate, but police need to make sure it is done in a way that doesn't risk public safety.

Skye Bryden-Blom, Mark Hodgins and Victoria Walton