Skip to main content

Canada: work officially starts on Montreal’s Champlain Bridge

Canada’s infrastructure minister, Denis Label, officially broke ground for Montreal’s replacement Champlain Bridge, saying the project will likely cost US$3.42 billion. The 3.4km Champlain Bridge Corridor Project, including spans and highway expansions, is expected to be completed by 2019. SNC-Lavalin, the 50% stakeholder in the winning consortium Signature on the Saint-Lawrence, recently announced it had finalised the deal with new Champlain Bridge owner Infrastructure Canada. Signature on the Saint-
June 25, 2015 Read time: 3 mins
Canada’s infrastructure minister, Denis Label, officially broke ground for Montreal’s replacement Champlain Bridge, saying the project will likely cost US$3.42 billion.

The 3.4km Champlain Bridge Corridor Project, including spans and highway expansions, is expected to be completed by 2019.

SNC-Lavalin, the 50% stakeholder in the winning consortium Signature on the Saint-Lawrence, recently announced it had finalised the deal with new Champlain Bridge owner Infrastructure Canada. Signature on the Saint-Lawrence will design, construct, finance, operate, maintain and rehabilitate. SSL has entered into a date-certain, fixed-priced contract of around $2.15 billion and the concession period runs October 2049.

The partnership of SNC-Lavalin, 2758 Flatiron and 4761 Dragados Canada are responsible for construction of the project. Consortium equity providers include SNC-Lavalin Capital, 917 ACS Infrastructure Canada and 981 HOCHTIEF PPP Solutions North America. The project is designed by T.Y. Lin International, International Bridge Technologies, SNC-Lavalin and MMM.

The existing bridge – a steel cantilever truss structure built in 1957 – spans the St. Lawrence River which flows from the Great Lakes and is the route for ocean-going ships to reach cities including Chicago deep in the interior of northern North America.

The old bridge is also one of the busiest crossings in the country, carrying between 40-60 million cars, trucks and buses a year. As well, over 11 million transit users travel across it annually. In terms of Canada-US trade, more than $16 billion worth of goods and services use the corridor annually.

The new Champlain Bridge is expected to feature a three-corridor design, including two three-lane corridors for vehicles and a two-lane public transport corridor capable of accommodating a light rail transit system. It will also have a multi-use path for pedestrians and cyclists.

Canada-based Canam-Bridge recently announced it had won the contract to fabricate the superstructure for the new bridge, for which the company expects to use around at least 45,000tonnes of steel.

In a separate statement, ACS said it had secured financing for its work, according to Spanish media. Private finance for the project includes a long-term bond issue in two series subscribed to by HSBC Securities and National Bank Financial.

The short-term finance during the construction period will include bank debt of $1.16 billion, through a syndicate of National Bank of Canada, Bank of Tokyo-3055 Mitsubishi UFJ, Bank of Nova Scotia, Caisse Centrale Desjardins du Quebec, 2714 Sumitomo Mitsui, HSBC Bank Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank and Bank of China.

There will also be capital contributed by shareholders of the consortium. The public finance portion of the funding will come through three payments associated with the achievement of targets in the project.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Teams shortlisted for Pattullo Bridge replacement near Vancouver
    March 1, 2019
    The Canadian province of British Columbia has shortlisted three consortia to design and build a US$1.06 billion Pattullo Bridge replacement near Vancouver. Fraser Community Connectors is led by Kiewit Canada Development. Kiewet Infrastructure BC is the design-build contractor. The long-span bridge design contractors are T.Y. Lin International and International Bridge Technologies. A joint venture of Flatiron Constructors, Dragados Canada and Carlson Construction Pattullo includes ACS Infrastructure Ca
  • Flatiron and Dragados win Corpus Christi Bridge deal
    June 25, 2015
    The Texas Transportation Commission has conditionally awarded the two companies, Flatiron and Dragados the contract to design, build and operate a new cable stayed Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge.
  • 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
  • Manitowoc MLC650 cranes keep Champlain Bridge on track
    October 28, 2016
    Two Manitowoc MLC650s are working on a project to replace the Champlain Bridge that spans the Saint Lawrence River in Montreal, Canada. The engineering consortium - Signature on the Saint Lawrence Construction (SSLC) – is assigned to the task. The capacity and reduced ground preparation made possible by the MLC650’s VPC-MAX attachment – as well as the ease of use of its Crane Control System (CCS) – are helping the team stay on schedule. The Champlain Bridge connects one of North America’s busiest road