The Champlain Bridge (also known as Pont Champlain) was a steel truss cantilever bridge with viaducts constructed of prestressed concrete beams. It crosses the Saint Lawrence River, connecting the Island of Montreal to its South Shore suburbs. Opened in 1962, the structure was degraded by de-icing salt. In 2015, construction began downstream on a replacement bridge designed to handle higher volumes of traffic. The replacement bridge opened on July 1, 2019, and the old Champlain Bridge was closed to traffic. The deconstruction project of the bridge will consist of three methods:
1. The deconstruction of the shoreline sections will be carried out from jetties set up along the river using standard equipment (excavators and cranes.)
2. Work from the river, which will be required for over 65 per cent of the project, will be done with a system of platforms attached to high-capacity lifting towers installed on a catamaran barge.
3. In January 2022, the main span located over the Seaway, the enormous 117.5-m long and 2,200-tonne component, was lowered 33 metres with strand jacks installed on anchor spans on each side, onto an assembly of two barges in the middle of the Seaway.
