Abstract Manager

Built in 1962, the original Champlain Bridge was a vital economic link for Canada-US trade, and one of Canada’s busiest bridges with approximately 50 million vehicle crossings per year. This bridge, spanning a total length of 3.4 km, comprised prestressed concrete girders and decks at the approach spans and steel trusses over the seaway. The extensive use of de-icing salts combined with a sharp increase in traffic volume accelerated the degradation of the bridge over time and led to the end of its service life in 2019. In that same year, Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated (JCCBI) proceeded with the deconstruction of the bridge and awarded the project to the Nouvel Horizon St-Laurent (NHSL) Consortium, of which AtkinsRéalis and TYLin were responsible for the engineering component. The project had a $400-million budget and the deconstruction of the bridge started in 2020 and was successfully completed in 2023.

The deconstruction of the original Champlain bridge is a high-profile project that is located in a densely urbanized area and crosses a very sensitive ecosystem. Consequently, a sustainability approach was fully integrated into the project with many constraints. There were substantial risks with the deconstruction works due to the deteriorated condition of the bridge and the substantial amount of rehabilitation works that were performed on the structure over the years.  

All of these aspects were considered in the design of the deconstruction by using an innovative approach in which the different components of the bridge were carefully dismantled to minimize the impact on the environment and promote the reuse of the materials. Comprehensive work methods were developed and are as follows:

• Deck jacking from a catamaran barge: the deck was jacked up on lifting towers that were installed on a barge and transported to land for dismantlement
• Controlled girder drop on the jetty: each girder was demolished at a specific predetermined location until it broke and then fell off
• Lowering of the suspended span sections on a barge using strand jacks: the suspended span was cut and lowered to a barge by strand jacks
• Reverse construction of the steel spans: the steel spans were dismantled piece by piece with a crane

As a result, 250,000 tonnes of concrete and 25,000 tonnes of steel were revalorized, the impact of the project on the surrounding environment was significantly minimized, and no issues relating to structural integrity were encountered throughout the entire deconstruction phase.