Mercier Bridge

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The Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated (JCCBI) and the Ministère des Transports du Québec (MTQ) are marking today (June 22) the 75th Anniversary of the Honoré-Mercier Bridge with the start of one of the most important phases in the bridge’s rehabilitation.

“It is very fitting that we begin this important phase of the project today,” said Glen Carlin, JCCBI General Manager. “This major rehabilitation project for the Mercier Bridge will prolong its life for about another 75 years.”

The use of pre-fabricated deck panels is the same process used to replace the deck of the Jacques-Cartier Bridge in 2001. In order to accelerate the work, the contractor, Mohawk Bridge Consortium, closed the Châteauguay access ramp this morning in order to effect a panel-by-panel replacement of the deck. The complete closure of the access ramp from Route 138 will be in effect until October of this year.

Yesterday to today

Named in memory of the Honourable Honoré Mercier, former Premier of Quebec, the bridge was opened on June 22, 1934, the fourth bridge to connect the island of Montreal to the South Shore, after the Lachine Bridge (1885), the Victoria Bridge (in 1860) and the Jacques-Cartier Bridge (1930). The Honoré-Mercier Bridge reduced the distance from Montreal to New York State by several kilometres.

Today, some 79,000 users use the bridge daily for a total of 28 million estimated vehicles per year. The Mercier Bridge repair agreement between the federal and provincial governments and the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake is a first in Canada for a project of this scope. The partnership is responsible for the most important bridge rehabilitation project ever undertaken in Canada.