Montreal and Laval linked by new 1.2-kilometre cable stayed bridge

Construction is well under way on a new cable-stayed bridge between Laval and Montreal. The 1.2-km. long bridge crosses Rivière des Prairies and is the first cable-stayed bridge in Quebec in 40 years.

The crossing is part of a major extension to Highway 25 that connects Henri-Bourassa Boulevard in Montreal and Highway 440 in Laval, stretching 7.2 kilometres. Besides the bridge over the river, the route has 10 grade separations and three interchanges. There is also a reserved public transit lane and a path for cyclists and pedestrians.

The contract for the highway extension was given to the Infras-Quebec A25 consortium in June 2007. The consortium will build, maintain and operate the toll road over 35 years, in what is the first public-private partnership in Quebec. Within the consortium, Parsons is the consulting engineer, in joint venture with contractor Kiewit, and the developer Macquarie of Australia. GENIVAR was also involved in the design and the environmental assessments.

The main bridge has a cable-stayed span of 280 metres. Its design was complicated by a restriction on the tower height, and the need to protect a fish-spawning area of the river.

In November, Structal-Bridges of Quebec, part of the Canam Group, delivered its last three components to the site. These massive girders are 2.4 metres deep and were erected on the central section of the bridge using a crane barge. The largest steel components in the crossing, also supplied by Structal-Bridges, are 40 metres long by 3.8 metres deep and weighed 80 tons.

Completion is scheduled for October 2011.