The bridge, opened in 1936 and modified in 1959 to accommodate the St Lawrence Seaway, will undergo replacement of the roadway deck and installation of new: expansion joints, roadway lighting, deck drainage, crash barriers, pavement, sidewalk and reinforcing the structural steel of the bridge for the new deck. Also the Monette overpass (upstream structure) situated in LaSalle is to be replaced under this contract. Work is expected to start in spring 2011 and be completed by the end of 2012. Much of the work will be carried out at night in order to avoid affecting the rush hour and daytime traffic.

The Mohawk labour force from Kahnawake is to be utilized to carry out much of the work on the bridge.

Phase A is currently underway and is being completed by contractors from Kahnawake (Mohawk Bridge Consortium). Together Phase A and B represent the most important bridge rehabilitation project ever to be undertaken in Canada.

Phase B : Sectors B1 and B2

In 2009, the federal government announced that the Champlain Bridge would undergo a ten year major maintenance program of some $212 million starting in 2009. This year’s work program, representing some $30 million, includes the rehabilitation of bridge piers, concrete beams and roadway expansion joints. Renewing the bridge’s roadway pavement will also be undertaken later this summer. Contractors have mobilized on site and work is now underway.

Repairs are also being carried out at the elevated section of the Bonaventure Expressway and certain traffic lanes will have to be closed and traffic detoured. JCCBI’s project to reconfigure the roadways at the North point of L’Île-des-Soeurs is also scheduled for completion this summer.

In an effort to keep users informed rapidly and regularly regarding lane closures for the various work sectors and to dialog with JCCBI, the Corporation is launching its new Champlain Bridge blog : www.champlainbridge.ca.

Twitter, Flickr and Youtube accounts have also been generated. To get news directly, users are invited to subscribe to our Newsletter and our RSS feed.

This communication platform is similar to the one presently available for Mercier Bridge that allows the public to follow and understand the bridge work through photos, maps and explanatory videos.

We remind you that Mercier Bridge (http://twitter.com/mercierbridge) has been on Twitter since June 16, 2009.

JCCBI’s presence on social network Twitter will allow us to quickly inform the public of closures and roadwork taking place on these important links between the south shore and the island of Montreal.

“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.