Champlain Bridge (Montreal)
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| Carries | 6 lanes of Quebec Autoroute 10, 15, 20 |
|---|---|
| Crosses | St. Lawrence River |
| Locale | Brossard, Quebec and Montreal, Quebec |
| Design | Steel truss cantilever bridge |
The Champlain Bridge (French: Pont Champlain) is a steel truss cantilever bridge with approach viaducts constructed of prestressed concrete beams supporting a prestressed concrete deck paved with asphalt. The bridge crosses the Saint Lawrence River and Saint Lawrence Seaway, connecting the Montreal boroughs of Verdun and Le Sud-Ouest to Brossard on the South Shore.
The bridge, with approaches, is approximately six kilometers in length. When the project began, the bridge was designated as the "Nuns' Island Bridge" because it crosses over Nuns' Island. In 1958, it was officially named the Champlain Bridge in honor of the explorer Samuel de Champlain who founded Quebec City in 1608.
[edit] Specifications
The Champlain Bridge project was undertaken in 1955 and construction proceeded between 1957 and 1962. The bridge carries six lanes of vehicle traffic; three in each direction. During rush hour one lane in the (heading off the island in the morning, and onto the island in the evening) is used as a reserved bus lane for traffic heading in the opposite direction. The bridge was opened to traffic in stages as the approaches were completed between June, 1962 and September, 1964. It was subsequently connected to the Bonaventure Expressway, which is part of the north approach to the bridge. The expressway was opened to traffic on April 21, 1967.
Approximately 49 million vehicles cross the Champlain Bridge every year, and 196 million people making it one of the busiest bridges in the world.
- Total length of crossing complex: 14.5 km (47,712 ft or 9 miles)
- Total bridge length including approaches: 7,412 m (24,312 ft)
- Length: abutment to abutment: 3,440 m (11,273 ft)
- Link of viaduct to Section 1: 2,195 m (7,200 ft)
- Center main cantilevered span: 215 m
- Wellington Street approach: 365 m (1,200 ft)
- Bonaventure Expressway: 4,573 m (15,000 ft)
Just upstream from the bridge is an ice boom, the Champlain Bridge Ice Control Structure.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
| Bridges of the St. Lawrence River | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Upstream Honoré Mercier Bridge  |
Champlain Bridge   |
Downstream Victoria Bridge      |
|
