News Roads & Bridges
Timeline set for dismantling the old Champlain Bridge

Deconstruction of the old Champlain Bridge is underway and will continue through January 2024. Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated (JCCBI) and Nouvel Horizon St-Laurent G.P. (NHSL) announced Oct. 13 that the work will take place in stages.

The cost of the overall project is $400 million, including $225.7 million for the deconstruction, but not including direct costs for sanitary measures because of COVID-19, which will be compiled at the end of the contract. Up to 200 workers will be employed on site.

Deconstruction Methods
Different methods will be used depending on the section to be deconstructed and the bridge components to be taken down.

Around 65 per cent of the work will be done from work platforms in the water that are away from residential areas.

Work planned for October 2020

• Construction of the Île des Sœurs jetty
• Construction of the Brossard jetty
• Preparatory work for the shoreline deconstruction on Île des Sœurs

Note that the schedule may change depending on how the work progresses and on weather conditions.

Work Schedule

Work to deconstruct the Champlain Bridge will take place over 43 months until January 2024. This global schedule shows the major upcoming milestones for the different sections of the Champlain Bridge.

• On Île des Sœurs, the deconstruction work will finish in summer 2021.
• For Section 5 over the river to the seaway, the work will be carried out in the water and will have little impact on mobility.
• For section 6 over the seaway, most of the work will be carried out in winter so as not to hinder marine transportation.
• Work on Section 7 on the Brossard side will start in spring 2022.

Once the Champlain Bridge deconstruction is complete, JCCBI will begin redeveloping the shoreline.

Work in progress – construction of temporary piers

Construction of a temporary pier has begun on Île des Sœurs and will continue throughout winter 2020-2021 with the creation of two fish migration corridors.

JCCBI is also carrying out projects to compensate for fish habitat that may be lost due to the construction of the piers. These projects nevertheless represent a gain for the environment, as the construction-site impacts are temporary, while the positives of the compensation projects will be permanent.

The installation of the pier on the Brossard side (Phase 1) began a few weeks ago, and the widening of the pier (Phase 2) will start in spring 2021. Finally, a third pier will be built on the St. Lawrence Seaway dike (near the Champlain Bridge Estacade) in 2021.

All of these piers will be used to take down structural bridge components along the shoreline where barges cannot be used due to the shallow water depth.