infrastructure overhaul program that started many years ago to rebuild the highway network in the south-west of Montreal,” says Hebert. “Obviously, there is also the nostalgic factor. The old Champlain bridge was, for more than 50 years, the main link between the Island of Montreal and the south shore, and was the busiest bridge in Canada with about 50 million vehicles crossing per year. To commemorate its past existence, the Owner of the old bridge put together a “Heritage” project that will highlight its history that will include remaining elements of the old structure in different ways.” The bridge was 3,441 m in length from abutment to abutment and consists of three sections, which are numbered from north to south as 5, 6 and 7. The north and south sections, which have lengths of 2150 m and 528 m respectively, were built using prestressed concrete I-beams spanning between concrete piers and supporting cast-in-place concrete decking paved with asphalt. Section 6, which is the central portion over the St. Lawrence Seaway, consists of steel trusses that also sit on reinforced concrete piers, which support a paved, reinforced concrete deck with an overall length of 763 m, including a cantilevered span of 215 m. Due to the structural deterioration of the bridge over time from de-icing salts, various reinforcement measures and rehabilitation programs were undertaken from the 1990s to the mid 2010s. The Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated (JCCBI)—a Canadian Government 10
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