After months of delays, the new bridge that links Montreal to the South shore is set to open a week from now.
According to the SSL Group, the Samuel De Champlain Bridge will open in two phases “to allow for a safe transition of traffic from existing bridge to the new one.”
Starting June 24, drivers will be able to use the northbound lanes towards Montreal and the north shore.
The southbound lanes, towards the South Shore, open July 1.
The total cost of the project is close to $4.5 billion.
There will be three lanes in each direction, a “multi-use path" with lookout points that is expected to open in the fall, and space for the REM electric train line.
The lane dedicated to public transit cannot yet be used because of the construction of the REM.
While the REM tracks are under construction there will be a reserved lane for buses on the shoulders of the roadway during morning and afternoon rush hours.
Building the bridge was a challenging experience, said project director Richard Munday.
“You have to make sure things are being built concurrently in various parts of Quebec and various parts of the world. The challenge is to bring those onto the site just in time, because there is no storage space here and to make sure they are here when you need them and to make sure they fit together when you put them together,” he said.
The new bridge is expected to be a much smoother ride thanks to fewer expansion joints: eight in total compared to 57 on the current bridge, as well as the fact that the asphalt is laid down in two layers.
“The first layer, we map it. We then take that information and feed into a milling machine that molds the surface of the bridge flat to profile and then we put the final layer on,” said Munday.
There will be another press briefing later this week to discuss detours and closures for the next two long weekends.
Delayed opening
The bridge was originally supposed to be ready for December 2018.
This was delayed by six months, and according to the contract, the group can face fines for these delays.
But as of Monday, SSL says it cannot confirm the amount because the details are still being discussed.
The contract stipulates that for the first seven days of delays, the group faces fines of $100,000 per day.
After that period, the fine is $400,000 per day, with a cap of $150 million.
The current bridge is one of the busiest bridges in the country with 40 to 60 million crossings a year.
The new bridge is expected to last 125 years.
Federal Infrastructure Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne acknowledged what a momentous undertaking it was to complete.
“I think we have delivered something that Montrealers would be proud of and people in Canada should be proud, one of the largest infrastuctures in North America,” he said.
