champlain pedestrian thumb

The Signature on the Saint-Laurent Group (SSL) consortium has won a C$2.15bn ($1.75bn) contract from the Canadian Government to design, build, finance and maintain the New Champlain Bridge Corridor project across the St Lawrence River.

SSL is comprised HOCHTIEF PPP Solutions North America, ACS, Flatiron, Dragados Canada, and Canadian partner SNC-Lavalin.

The partners of the public-private partnership (PPP) will be responsible for the planning, financing, constructing and operating the project.

SNC-Lavalin is a 50% partner in SSL, while HOCHTIEF PPP Solutions has a 25% stake.

Work under the project will include construction of a new eight-lane, 3.4km highway bridge across the St Lawrence River.

"It is expected to improve the traffic flow on this important commercial and transit route between the US and Canada."

It is expected to improve the traffic flow on this important commercial and transit route between the US and Canada.

The new bridge will run from the Île-des-Sœurs to Brossard, downstream from the existing Champlain Bridge.

The existing bridge across the St. Lawrence River is one of the business crossings in the country with up to 60 million cars, trucks and buses passing over it each year.

Work will also include a bridge over the Île-des-Sœurs (Nun’s Island), widening of sections of Autoroute 15 and Autoroute 10, installation of tolling infrastructure and intelligent transportation systems.

The new bridge will include three corridors, with two three-lane corridors for vehicle traffic and a two-lane transit corridor with light rail transit capabilities for future use, as well as a multi-use path for pedestrians and cyclists.

The partnership of SNC-Lavalin, Flatiron and Dragados Canada will be responsible for construction of the project, while consortium equity providers include SNC-Lavalin Capital, ACS Infrastructure Canada and HOCHTIEF PPP Solutions North America.

The project is designed by TY Lin International, International Bridge Technologies, SNC-Lavalin and MMM.

Construction work on the new bridge has already started and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2018, while the remaining parts of the overall route is expected to be finished by the end of 2019.

Following completion of the new bridge, SSL will operate and maintain the bridge for 30 years until October 2049, including a toll system.

Image: Between 40 to 60 million vehicles cross the St Lawrence River every year via the existing Champlain Bridge. Photo: courtesy of SNC-Lavalin.