Champlain Bridge authority plans to install 'super beam'

Officials with the Champlain Bridge authority saytheyplanto install a new support beamon top ofthe one that cracked andforcedthe closure ofanother lanetoday.

At a news conference Friday, transport officials said they now plan to install the new beam by mid-December, which will require a two-day periodwhen traffic is limiteddown to two lanesone in eachdirection.

We did not expect the beam to show stress so early,- Glen P. Carlin,general manager of the Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated

Officials say they will aim to do the installation on a weekend, in order to reduce its impact on drivers.

"We did not expect the beam to show stress so early," saidGlen P. Carlin, general manager of the Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated.

"This event is definitely showing that these pre-stress beams have been attacked by corrosion, the use of road-salt for the last 50 years. The road salt has found its way inside these beams," he said.

This "super-beam,"weighing 75 tonnes, was manufactured in 2009 as a preventive measure.

The huge piece of steel will be sent to Nuns' Island, where it will be assembled before being hoisted up using a barge orlowered froma crane.

Once installed, this "super-beam" will reinforcethe cracked beam.

Lane closures cause rush hour delays

Officials saidthey were forced to close another lane of the Champlain Bridge today, after the 2-millimetrecrack they recently discovered in one of the spans girders continues to deteriorate.

Its condition has continued to decline- Statement fromJacques Carter and Champlain Bridges Corporation

Since closing a lane on the Champlain Bridge, weve been closely monitoring the girder that requires reinforcement, and in recent days have noted that its condition has continued to decline, said a statement issued late Thursday night by the Jacques Carter and Champlain Bridges Corporation.

As a preventive measure, we are obliged to close a second southbound lane to carry out a special inspection to thoroughly analyze the situation.

This morning, two of the three lanes heading towards the South Shore wereclosed.

Beginning in the afternoon two lanes will be open in bothdirections.

Bridge officials saidthe crack discovered last week has lengthened, and theyhave discovered three cracks in total.

The corporation urges motorists heading off-island to use either the Mercier or Jacques Cartier bridges, or the Lafontaine tunnel.

7 new measures

Officials already had a plan with 12 traffic-calming measures in place since last week, when the initial crack was discovered.

Now, seven new measures have been added to further help ease congestion on the island of Montreal and the South Shore.

Political leaders of Montreal andSouth Shore cities along with Quebec Transport Minister Sylvain Gaudreaultsay they are all joining forces to put pressure on the federal government to deliver a new Champlain Bridge sooner than planned.

The government had committed to building anew span for2021, but local mayors say that won't suffice anymore.

"We are talking as one voice to put the right [amount of] pressure so that the federal government will understand that," said Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre, adding that he'd like to see preliminary plans for a new bridge by the end of the year.