Champlain Bridge (Montreal, 1962–2019)
The Champlain Bridge (French: Pont Champlain) was a steel truss cantilever bridge with approach viaducts constructed of prestressed concrete beams supporting a prestressed concrete deck paved with asphalt. The bridge crossed the Saint Lawrence River, connecting the Island of Montreal to its South Shore suburbs.
Champlain Bridge | |
|---|---|
Champlain Bridge in October 2010 | |
| Coordinates | 45°28′07″N 73°31′03″W |
| Carries | Six lanes of Autoroute 10, 15, 20 |
| Crosses | St. Lawrence River and Saint Lawrence Seaway |
| Locale | Brossard and Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Owner | The Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Inc. |
| Maintained by | The Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Inc. |
| Website | jacquescartierchamplain |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Steel truss Cantilever bridge |
| Material | Steel, Concrete |
| Total length | 3,440 m (11,286 ft) 7,412 m (24,318 ft) (including approaches) |
| Longest span | 215.5 m (707.02 ft) |
| Clearance below | 36.6 m (120 ft) at mid-span |
| No. of lanes | 6 |
| History | |
| Designer | Philip Louis Pratley Henry Hugh Lewis Pratley |
| Engineering design by | Philippe Ewart Lalonde and Valois |
| Constructed by | Atlas Construction Company Limited McNamara (Quebec) Limited The Key Construction Inc. Deschamps & Bélanger Limitée Dominion Bridge Company |
| Construction start | 1957 |
| Construction cost | C$35 million C$52 million (including approaches and Bonaventure Expressway) |
| Opened | June 28, 1962 |
| Closed | June 28, 2019 |
| Statistics | |
| Daily traffic | 159,000 |
| Toll | Collected until 1990 |
| Location | |
Opened in 1962, the structure was degraded by de-icing salt. In 2015, construction began 100 m (330 ft) downstream on a replacement bridge designed to handle higher volumes of traffic. The old Champlain Bridge was closed to traffic, exactly 57 years after its opening, while its replacement bridge was opened 4 days later. Demolition began in 2020. It took almost four years, and cost about $400 million.
Together with the Jacques Cartier Bridge, it was administered by the Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated (JCCBI), a Canadian Crown Corporation which reports to Infrastructure Canada. Since December 21, 1978, JCCBI was responsible for the management, maintenance and monitoring of the Champlain Bridge.
The bridge saw about 50 million crossings per year, of which 200,000 were buses. On an average weekday, 66% of users were commuters. It was one of the busiest bridges in Canada upon its closure in 2019, Hogg's Hollow Bridge is the busiest overall.