The federal government announced this morning (Oct. 25) that the long-awaited replacement for Montreal’s aging Champlain Bridge will not be delivered on time as promised. The bridge, originally promised by December 1st, 2018, was initially pushed back to December 21st, 2018 due to unforeseen problems transporting heavy construction materials over the existing bridge. Now, an even longer setback has been announced and the new bridge won’t be delivered until June of next year (2019).
Although construction on major structural components is complete or nearing completion, work remains to be done, namely on waterproofing and paving. That won’t start until early next spring.
The bridge, which is under the jurisdiction of the Canadian federal government, is being built by the SSL consortium, which could face fines of up to $100,000 per day the first week that the project is late, and $400,000 per day afterwards. If this $4.4-billion project is delayed until June 1st, it would be 162 days late, resulting in SSL being fined $62.7 million.
According to CBC, it is unclear whether the federal government will follow through on these fines.