Proposed Champlain Bridge (artist impression)
Ramboll, based in Denmark, will work with the Canadian consultant
Stantec will review of all highway design along with site inspections for the project that will cross the St. Lawrence River and cost up to US$4.1 billion.
“The new contract is in line with Ramboll’s strategy for North America where we are pursuing several other larger bridge and tunnel projects,” said Lars Thorbek, head of Ramboll’s department for international bridges.
World Highways reported in April that the Canadian government had awarded the multi-billion dollar contract for the Champlain Bridge, in the province of Quebec, to a consortium led by SNC-Lavalin. The firm, based in Montreal, will design, build, maintain and operate the toll bridge under a 35-year public-private partnership deal.
The consortium, called Signature on the Saint-Lawrence Group, includes Spanish firms
The project includes a new île des Soeurs Bridge along with reconstruction and widening of the federal portion of Autoroute 15. But the crown-jewel of the project is the New Champlain Bridge, a 3.4 km crossing of the main channel of the St. Lawrence River, which includes a cable stay section over the St. Lawrence Seaway.
Construction is set to begin in the summer of 2015. The New Champlain Bridge will be in service in 2018 and the rest of the corridor will be completed in 2019.
This past summer, Canada-based Canam-Bridge was chosen to fabricate the superstructure for the new bridge. Marc Dutil, chief executive of Canam, a specialist bridge superstructure fabricator, said at the time he expects at least 45,000tonnes of steel will be required for the 3.4km bridge.
