Deconstruction of the original Champlain Bridge

• 1 abutment has been deconstructed on the Île des Sœurs side. 
• 42 spans have been removed between Île des Sœurs and the St. Lawrence Seaway dike. 
• 48 piers have been deconstructed, and this work will continue until 2023. 
• 45 pier footings have been deconstructed, and this work will continue until 2023. 
• 92 modular trusses have been removed from the jetty and from the marine sector. 
• 408 components have been delivered to the storage site to be provided to university research bodies or reused.

Section 5 : St. Lawrence River

Work is currently on hold and will resume in the summer of 2023 after the restricted periods of work in the marine environment.

Section 6 : Seaway

Deconstruction of the span’s west cantilever section continue until spring 2023.

579 steel components remain to be cut apart and lowered onto the jetty during work on the west span (seaway dike area) of Section 6. To date, over 120 components have been cut and lowered onto the jetty.

Steel reinforcements and two temporary support systems were installed above and below the existing structure. This equipment will allow the structure to be cut into two sections to deconstruct them from the center towards the pillars.

The 5 steps of a lifting operation:

1. To lift a component from the bridge, engineers have to identify and calculate the weight to be lifted.
2. Once the weight is determined, cutting lines are painted onto the component.
3. The component is attached to a crane, and crews on the bridge deck cut the steel into pieces.
4. Finally, the component is lowered and placed on the jetty by the crane.
5. The materials are sent to authorized recycling centres.

On average, about ten lifting operations can be done per day depending on the weather.

During this process, some components from identified sections will be recovered for research and development projects or reuse projects.

All works may generate trucking, noise due to the deconstruction work and the off-site transportation of materials, dust emissions and occasional local traffic hindrances.

• Jetty: The jetty allows the dismantling of structural elements of the bridge in areas on the shore where the use of barges is not possible due to the shallow water. 
• Pier: The pier of a bridge, or the “leg”, is an intermediate support supporting the deck of the structure. 
• Footing: A footing of a bridge, or the “foot”, is the base that takes up the loads of the bridge. 
• Abutment: The abutment of a bridge is the part located on the shore intended to support the weight of a deck.  
• Deck: The deck of a bridge is a load-bearing structure that supports the loads of road traffic. 
• Span: The span of a bridge is the part between two piers or between a pier and an abutment. 
• Pier cap: The pier cap of a bridge is the upper part of a pier when the deck rests on it by means of one or more supports.