Héritage Champlain Pathway caps off the project to deconstruct the original Champlain Bridge and leaves a public legacy to commemorate this structure. Three sites have been redeveloped after land was freed up by the deconstruction of the bridge—i.e. the shoreline of Île des Sœurs and Brossard as well as the St. Lawrence Seaway dike—for a total area of 7 hectares. The Estacade is also included as a mobility corridor that ties the project together. To discover
The opening of the Heritage Champlain Pathway is scheduled for spring 2026. To discover
Yes, some components from the Original Champlain Bridge have been reused for this project, such as steel components, beams, plates and parts from the orthotropic deck as well as three piers from the bridge that will be kept in place on both sides of the river. To discover
Yes, several public consultation activities were held in 2019 and included information days, an online consultation, a co-design workshop, and a “design charrette.” Overall, nearly 5,000 people took part in consultations to develop four main themes: connectivity, citizen ownership, biodiversity and commemoration. The development of the Héritage Champlain project was based on these themes.
JCCBI wanted to preserve the history of this structure that connected Montreal and the South Shore for 57 years. Featuring a collection of archival materials—including previously unreleased documents, as well as exclusive videos and images—the new section will take you on a journey through the major periods of the bridge’s life, from design to deconstruction.
The Champlain Bridge has reached the end of its service life and was taken down. Due to design problems with the original bridge, some structural components have deteriorated more quickly than expected. The weight of the bridge alone (dead load) accounts for 80% of the total load, while traffic (live load) only accounts for 20% of the total load.
Deconstruction work began in July 2020 until November 2023, which means 41 months.
The overall envelope planned for the deconstruction project is $ 400 million and includes, among other things, deconstruction work ($225,7), environmental protection measures, the materials reuse program as well as the research and development program, in addition redevelopment of the shoreline at the end of the project (Héritage Champlain).
The bridge was deconstructed and not demolished. This means that its components were carefully taken apart to minimize the impact on the environment and the public. The exact deconstruction method was determined by the contractor, and the goal was to create social, environmental and economic benefits in accordance with sustainable development principles.
Yes, JCCBI is conducting a targeted environmental analysis (TEA) to enhance the environmental study conducted by Infrastructure Canada in 2013 for the construction of the Samuel-De Champlain Bridge, as this report also covered the deconstruction of the existing bridge.
As part of the Heritage Champlain program, JCCBI will ensure that the community has a historical legacy of this bridge. In addition, a Heritage Champlain co-design workshop was organized in December 2019 with citizens who had expressed their interest during the public consultations. The report of this workshop is online. More information to come on Heritage Champlain.
The materials were transported and reused locally, near the project site, by specialized companies for each type of material.
JCCBI prioritized the environment and the quality of life for local residents. This choice requires meticulous deconstruction methods and prohibits faster methods such as blasting. With a focus on sustainable development, a project goal is to reuse the vast majority of the deconstructed materials. A materials management and reuse plan was developed to provide a framework for reuse and recycling options depending on the type of recovered materials. Overall, the Nouvel Horizon Saint-Laurent (NHSL) Corporation (the contractor for the project) is aiming to recover a minimum of 90% of all deconstruction materials from the original Champlain Bridge.
JCCBI was closely monitoring all nuisances (noise, vibrations or dust). NHSL was committed to upholding these criteria and has put everything in place to stay within these thresholds throughout the work. If necessary, NHSL proposed additional measures to ensure compliance with these criteria.
JCCBI launched an applied research program to significantly improve our knowledge of infrastructure performance and sustainability. The research program will be conducted in collaboration with different Canadian research bodies. JCCBI selected 12 research and development projects that will take place during the deconstruction.