Demolition of the Champlain Bridge, a steel truss cantilever bridge over the Saint Lawrence river, opened in 1962, began two years ago. The dismantling of the 1st pier at Nun’s Island began last week.

The Nouvel Horizon St-Laurent s.e.n.c (NHSL) consortium, formed by Pomerleau and Delsan-A.I.M. Environmental Services has been charged with the deconstruction of the bridge. It is scheduled to take four years, and may cost about $400 million. The project involves the relocation and recycling of 253,000 tonnes of concrete, and 175,000 tonnes of steel. Last month, the deconstruction of 30 marine spans with the catamaran barge, 30 marine piers and the suspension span was completed:

The dismantling of the 1st pier at Nun’s Island entails the removal of 3 piers measuring a total length of one kilometres, which are made up of 370,000 tons of stone. To compensate for the low water level preventing NHSL from approaching the structure with barges, NHSL set up riprap jetties for their equipment.

Preparation of the deconstruction blitz of the bridge elements above, as well as adjacent to Route 132 have also begun. Because the demolition is happening above route 132, NHSL will close traffic lanes at night and on weekends, to move entire spans outside the lanes. Simultaneously, the deconstruction of the pier foundations, 4 steel approach spans, steel cantilever and anchor span, and the steel trusses on the South Shore are also progressing.