Departmental Plan 2019-20
Status Report on Transformational and Major Crown Projects

Project name

New Bridge for the St. Lawrence Corridor Project (Samuel De Champlain Bridge Corridor Project)

Description

The Samuel De Champlain Bridge Corridor Project (Project) includes the replacement of the 3.4 kilometre Champlain Bridge and the 500 metre Île–des–Soeurs Bridge and will widen the federally owned portion of Highway 15 to a six–lane capacity. The Project is being delivered as a public–private partnership (P3).

Project outcomes

• Maintain the safety and efficiency of the Corridor;
• Foster sustainable development and urban integration within the Montreal area;
• Improve the flow of people and goods in the Montreal area;
• Improve the safety of users through modern design aspects;
• Design and construct the Samuel De Champlain Bridge and Ile des Soeurs Bridge with 125 Year Life Expectancies;
• Design and construct a public transit corridor and highway 15 that meet engineering standards.

Industrial benefits

The Project will foster economic growth by improving connections across road systems and ensuring the continuous and safe flow of people and goods. The project is a crucial corridor for the regional economy and for Canada as a whole. The existing Champlain Bridge is one of the busiest bridges in Canada with traffic estimated at over 40 million vehicles per year. It is a major Canada–United States trade corridor, handling $20 billion of international trade and 11 million transit commuters per year.

In addition to ensuring the safety of users, replacing the existing infrastructures and widening Highway 15 will mitigate disruptions to the trade corridor and will improve the flow of traffic.

Sponsoring department

Infrastructure Canada

Contracting authority

Public Services and Procurement Canada

Participating departments

Public Services and Procurement Canada, Justice Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada

Prime contractors

Private Partner
Signature on the St. Lawrence Group
1400–1501 McGill College
Montreal, QC H3A 3M8

Technical Advisor – Owner's Engineer
Arup Canada Inc.
600 Boulevard de Maisonneuve West, Office 750
Montréal, QC H3A 3J2

Major subcontractors

Independent Engineer
Stantec & Ramboll
300–1080 Beaver Hall Hill
Montréal, QC, H2Z 1S8

Project phase

In 2019–2020, the Private Partner will achieve substantial completion of the Samuel De Champlain Bridge. The project team will oversee the construction and manage agreements with external entities.

Major milestones

• Signature of Project Agreement with the Private Partner and beginning of construction : June 2015
• Negotiations begin to move forward on a toll–free bridge : November 2015
• Opening of the new Île-des-Soeurs Bridge : November 2018
• Scheduled completion of the construction of the Samuel De Champlain Bridge : June 2019
• Scheduled completion of the construction of the Corridor : October 2019

Progress report and explanation of variances

• The construction cost for Canada was estimated at between $3 billion and $5 billion. In 2015, the Government of Canada confirmed that the project cost was $4.239 billion.
• In June 2015, the Government of Canada entered into a 34 year contractual agreement with a private partner, Signature on the Saint–Lawrence Group. The private partner is responsible for carrying out the design, construction, financing, operation and maintenance work for the project.
• Following delays in the construction schedule due to challenges related to the transportation of oversized pieces and strikes that affected the Quebec construction sector, in April 2018 the Government of Canada reached an agreement in the amount of $235 million with the private partner. This agreement sets the delivery date of the new Champlain Bridge as December 21, 2018, covers additional measures to meet this date, and ends the lawsuit filed by the private partner in Quebec Superior Court.
• Additional delays to the construction schedule took place over the 2018 construction season. It was later announced that the New Champlain Bridge would be in service no later than June 2019.
• In December 2018 it was announced that the new structure would be called the Samuel De Champlain Bridge.