Quebec to build new Mercier Bridge for Montreal city

Provincial government cabinet ministers Pierre Moreau and Geoff Kelley confirmed that a new bridge is forthcoming, but gave schedule for procurement or construction start, according to local media. However, Moreau said the work will begin probably before the new Champlain Bridge is finished at the start of 2019.

Construction of the new Champlain Bridge began in June 2015, with opening scheduled for December 2018.

The aging Mercier bridge has suffered major repairs since 2013.

"The bridge is safe, but it will require until it's replacement $100 million of upkeep work. It's obvious we have to do something else than just upkeep the bridge," Moreau reportedly said.

The initial bridge, just under 1km long, was opened in 1934 and then twinned by construction of a second span adjacent in 1963. It crosses the St. Lawrence River and accompanying Seaway canals on the western side of the Island of Montreal to connect the Montreal borough of LaSalle with the Mohawk reserve of Kahnawake and the city suburb of Châteauguay on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River.

The bridge is named after former premier of Quebec province, Honoré Mercier. An estimated 30 million vehicles use the bridge annually.

Last month, the 2880 Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated (JCCBI), the federal Canadian agency that oversees several major road infrastructure assets in the city including the Mercier Bridge, said that tearing down the old steel truss cantilever Champlain Bridge could cost around US$300 million.

Also, until the nearby new Champlain Bridge is finished, it will cost US$93 million annually to maintain the old one, according to JCCBI. Dismantling of the structure that opened in 1962 will start in 2019 at the earliest and could take up to four years.

3260 World Highways reported in 2015 that the Canadian government had awarded the multi-billion-dollar contract for the Champlain Bridge to a consortium led by SNC-Lavalin under a 35-year public-private partnership. The consortium called Signature on the Saint-Lawrence Group includes Spanish firms 4761 Dragados Canada and 917 ACS Infrastructures and the US firm 2758 Flatiron Construction. Other members are MMM Group, T.Y. Lin International, International Bridge Technologies Canada and 981 Hochtief PPP Solutions.