Champlain Bridge set to open by end of year, says SNC-Lavalin

The replacement Champlain Bridge in Montreal will open on schedule at the end of the year, according to the SNC-Lavalin-led consortium heading the project. Cost of the entire corridor project is set at US$3.3 billion of which around $1.8 billion is for construction of the bridge, approach roads and highway adjustments. Failure to open the bridge to vehicular traffic on time means the consortium faces stiff fines, according to media reports: around $77,500 a day for the first seven days followed by $31
March 6, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
Montreal’s Champlain Bridge: on schedule, so far, with 65% complete and opening set for December (photo courtesy Signature sur le Saint-Laurent Construction S.E.N.C.)
The replacement Champlain Bridge in Montreal will open on schedule at the end of the year, according to the SNC-Lavalin-led consortium heading the project.


Cost of the entire corridor project is set at US$3.3 billion of which around $1.8 billion is for construction of the bridge, approach roads and highway adjustments.

Failure to open the bridge to vehicular traffic on time means the consortium faces stiff fines, according to media reports: around $77,500 a day for the first seven days followed by $310,000 per day.

The federal Canadian government signed a public-private partnership deal with the SNC-Lavalin consortium Signature on the Saint-Laurent Group in mid-2015 for the group to design, build, finance and maintain the New Champlain Bridge Corridor project. SNC-Lavalin is a 50% partner in SSL which will operate and maintain the bridge until October 2049. Other SSL partners are 981 Hochtief, 2758 Flatiron, 4761 Dragados Canada and Grupo 917 ACS.

Meanwhile, SSL entered into a date-certain, fixed-priced contract with a construction joint venture of which SNC-Lavalin is again a 50% partner.

The new bridge, part of a six-lane 6km corridor including roads, is being built alongside the original bridge over the Saint Lawrence River and Seaway canal system. The new bridge, 3.4km long, will have the six vehicle lanes plus two lanes running in the middle of the bridge for electric public transit trains. The bridge runs from the île des Soeurs to Brossard, immediately downstream from the existing Champlain Bridge.
 
The new composite girder bridge across the river and Seaway consists of a 170m-high twin-tower cable stay bridge with a front span of around 240m and a back span of 120m.

Construction of the existing steel truss cantilever bridge, as well as accompanying approaches and the Bonaventure Expressway, started in 1957 and finished in 1962. Of the old 14.5km-long complex, the bridge is 7.4km. Every year, around 50 million vehicles cross the old bridge, Canada’s most heavily travelled bridge and a major route for traffic to and from the US.

Road Structures

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Montreal’s Champlain Bridge opens but late and over-budget
    June 27, 2019
    Montreal’s US$3.5-billion, 3.4km-long Samuel de Champlain Bridge has opened after four years of construction and months of delays, according to Canadian media reports. Work is continuing on the cycle and pedestrian paths and eventually a light-rail train will run down the middle of the six lane bridge over the St. Lawrence River. The new structure has a life-span of 125 years and runs alongside its namesake Champlain Bridge, a steel truss cantilever that opened in 1962 which will be demolished. Accord
    Read More
  • JCCBI says US$300m for demolishing Montreal’s old Champlain Bridge
    April 11, 2017
    Tearing down the old steel truss cantilever Champlain Bridge in Montreal could cost around US$300 million, according to preliminary estimates by a federal government agency. Also, until the nearby new Champlain Bridge is finished, it will cost US$93 million annually to maintain the old one, according to Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated (JCCBI), the federal Canadian agency that oversees several major road infrastructure assets in the city. Dismantling will start in 2019 at the earliest and
    Read More
  • Canada: Champlain Bridge deal awarded to SNC-Lavalin consortium
    April 17, 2015
    The Canadian government has awarded a multi-billion dollar contract for the Champlain Bridge in Montreal, in the province of Quebec, to a consortium led by SNC-Lavalin. The firm, based in Montreal, will design, build, maintain and operate the toll bridge under a 35-year public-private partnership deal worth between US$2.5-$4.1 billion. The consortium called Signature on the Saint-Lawrence Group includes Spanish firms Dragados Canada and ACS Infrastructures and the US firm Flatiron Construction. Other
    Read More
  • SSL hits back over criticism of its work on the Champlain Bridge
    December 11, 2017
    The contactor building the replacement Champlain Bridge in Canada has hit back over of allegations of poor workmanship in the US$3.3 billion project. The new 3.4km cable-stayed Champlain Bridge over the St Lawrence River will have six lanes vehicle lanes and a separate cycle and pedestrian lane. Design life is 125 years and is being constructed under a public-private partnership and operating contract of 30 years after completion of construction. Work includes construction of a smaller bridge for Île des
    Read More

Highlighted Content