The Honourable George Marler, the federal Minister of Transport at the time, announced that a toll bridge would be built over Île des Sœurs to the South Shore on August 17, 1955.

Philippe Fougerolle

In 1844, French mason Philippe Fougerolle founded the company that still bears his name. The Fougerolle company worked on the design of many large-scale structures and was responsible for developing the construction of the Champlain Bridge.

The company’s story started in France. After finishing work on the Canal du Nivernais, Philippe Fougerolle received the royal engineering seal to work on roads and bridges in Nièvre. With this recognition, Fougerolle received a stamp of approval that let him submit tenders for major projects.

From the Mauvages Tunnel to the Tancarville Bridge, Fougerolle had a hand in the construction of many viaducts, tunnels and bridges in France.

Meanwhile, several hundred kilometres from France, it was announced that a toll bridge would be built over the St. Lawrence River. The National Harbours Board invited representatives from Greater Montreal cities and governments to decide on the location of the structure.

The design of the plans and specifications and the supervision of the work was handed over to the Pratley de Montréal consulting engineering firm.

To enhance the project coordination, the construction was divided into seven sectors, including the access ramps, metal structure and concrete deck.

The development of the entire project will be entrusted to the French company Fougerolle.

Romeo Valois and the advent of Quebec genius

A graduate of the École Polytechnique de Montréal and the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology, engineer Roméo Valois co-founded the Lalonde et Valois consulting engineering firm.

Valois partnered with a former classmate, Jean-Paul Lalonde, in a bold move to found his own engineering company in 1936. That year, the Quebec ministry of highways injected $50 million in the construction of roads and bridges.

Despite the heavy involvement of foreign engineers in major construction projects, the Association of Former Students of the École Polytechnique de Montréal (AFSÉPM) succeeded in positioning its graduates at the highest levels of the province’s civil service.

After the launch of the $50-million transportation infrastructure program, Francophone engineers from Quebec moved into leadership positions for important infrastructure projects, such as the Champlain Bridge and the Honoré Mercier Bridge.

As the pair wanted to work on the problem of soil bearing capacity, a year later they acquired National Boring and Sounding, a company that specialized in the study of land that supports building, bridge and tunnel foundations.

The firm was able to expand its business even amidst the economic turmoil caused by the Second World War. Lalonde and Valois worked on major national projects, including over two hundred projects that dealt with major construction, school expansions, and renovations.

Although the National Harbours Board was tasked with managing the construction of the Champlain Bridge in 1955, engineering consulting firm Pratley de Montréal was hired to create the plans and specifications and oversee the work.

These engineers decided to partner with Lalonde et Valois to enhance the project coordination.

Philippe Ewart and his son Hugh

Philippe Ewart was hired to work on the construction of the Champlain Bridge because of his expertise in traffic flow. This engineer had to coordinate this vast project to create a direct connection between Montréal and the road network leading to Sherbrooke.

In 1956, the National Harbours Board, which was officially in charge of the project, held consultations with stakeholders to decide on the exact location for the new bridge. Once the route was determined, the design and construction work was awarded to Philip Louis Pratley, who died suddenly a year later.

His son Hugh Pratley took over the reins and, to better manage the project, partnered with a trio of engineers, one of whom was Philippe Ewart. After this experience, Ewart and his associates went on to write a number of books, including works on highway tolls and urban traffic.