Skip to main content

JCCBI says US$300m for demolishing Montreal’s old Champlain Bridge

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
April 11, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
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 2880 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 it will take up to four years, Canadian media reported. JCCBI has said that material from the old bridge will be recycled and used in projects around Montreal.

More than 140,000 cars use it daily, making it one of the busiest single-span bridges in Canada. But years of heavy use of de-icing salt during harsh winters has deteriorated the structure.

Work on a new bridge started in 2016 and it is scheduled to open at the end of 2018.

The 6km Champlain Bridge, opened in 1962, along with approach viaducts is made of prestressed concrete beams supporting a prestressed concrete deck overlaid with paved with asphalt. The total bridge complex is around 14.5km and spans the Saint Lawrence River and Saint Lawrence Seaway, connecting the Montreal boroughs of Verdun and Le Sud-Ouest to Brossard. It is named after the French explorer Samuel de Champlain, who founded Quebec City, the Quebec province’s capital, in 1608.

Together with the Jacques Cartier Bridge, it is administered by JCCBI, a Canadian Crown Corporation which reports to Infrastructure Canada.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Quebec will take responsibility for its bridges from Canada’s Government
    April 4, 2012
    A transfer of responsibility is planned for bridges in Qeubec, Canada. Structures currently under the responsibility of the Canadian Federal Government may be handed over to the Quebec Government, should proposed moves be made. This policy looks likely to include the Jacques Cartier Bride. After the completion of the Champlain Bridge, planned for for 2021, the Federal Government may hand over the bridge to the provincial government. This is due to the Federal Government's lack of sufficient funds for the pr
  • Cable works starts on Gordie Howe Bridge
    February 10, 2023
    The tolled six-lane bridge over the Detroit River, between Windsor in Canada and Detroit in the US, is costing around US$4.2 billion with an opening date likely in 2025.
  • GRAA Winner Profile: Samuel De Champlain Bridge Corridor project
    June 7, 2023
    The Samuel De Champlain Bridge Corridor in Montreal, Canada is a complex project which includes one of the largest bridge projects in North America, the $4.2 billion signature cable-stayed Samuel De Champlain Bridge, as well as a new Île-des-Soeurs Bridge, reconstruction and widening of the federal portion of Autoroute 15, a 2,044m west approach, and a 762m east approach.
  • Montreal’s critical list of deteriorating bridges and tunnels has doubled
    September 3, 2012
    The number of Montreal’s bridges and tunnels in a “critical” condition has more than doubled during the past 12 months, says a shocking new report looking at the state of the city’s transport infrastructure. The new report, which came out this month, shows that 27 of the city’s 587 highway structures reached “critical condition” in 2011 compared with only 12 in 2010.