In 2017, Halifax Regional Council approved a $7.3-million multi-year cycling upgrade for the Macdonald Bridge

It appears a major project to improve safety for cyclists crossing the harbour could face a several-year delay.

In 2017, Halifax Regional Council approved a $7.3-million multi-year cycling upgrade for the Macdonald Bridge.

A good chunk of that price tag is to fund a bicycle 'flyover' ramp on the Halifax side that would connect to Gottingen and North streets.

Construction was expected to begin in 2020, however an email obtained by NEWS 95.7 from Halifax Regional Municipality chief administrative officer Jacques Dube says only $1-million has been set aside for Macdonald Bridge cycling infrastructure in the 2019/2020 budget, which has been earmarked for improvements to the Dartmouth side, along with some design and project management work.

"We intend to issue an addendum to this capital plan placing the actual bikeway construction costs in the out years of the 10-year plan," the email stated.

Sustainable transportation coordinator for the Ecology Action Center, Kelsey Lane said, with the population of Halifax on the rise, the flyover project is needed to help ease congestion.

"We've seen the evidence of what happens when you make those investments, people start using them," she explained. "In terms of bike use, it takes 20,000 bicycles to make the same amount of roadway damage as one mid-size sedan."

Critics of the project have said the cost of putting the infrastructure in place is far too high and that regional council should be focusing on more pressing priorities.