The commission follows on from preliminary engineering design that Arup has just completed as part of the business case for the new bridge. The work of the Arup team has facilitated a reduction in the overall schedule, including a planned completion of the bridge three years earlier than originally planned.
The new crossing will be built by a public-private partnership to replace the existing Champlain Bridge. It will connect the Island of Montreal with the South Shore through complex highway junctions and smaller bridges.
Arup will be working to accelerate the preliminary engineering and procurement of the new bridge. The project has a challenging fast-track schedule that will result in the bridge being complete and open in 2018.
The Champlain Bridge is used by up to 60m vehicles per year and is one of the busiest vehicle crossings in Canada. The high volume of heavy vehicles and corrosion caused by road salt have contributed to deterioration of the structure, resulting in the need for extensive maintenance. The 3.5km bridge was built some 50 years ago, primarily of reinforced concrete beams supported by concrete piers.
The Arup team includes Groupe SMi, Dissing+Weitling, Provencher & Roy and Loctrans.
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