Champlain Bridge won’t be ready on time: report

Commuters may have to wait until the end of June before they can drive on the new Champlain Bridge.

Construction on the bridge, which was supposed to be completed in time for Christmas, is virtually finished, but paving and waterproofing the structure will be impossible in the winter cold, according to a Journal de Montréal report.

Federal Transport Minister François-Philippe Champagne is expected to announce the delays at a press conference on Thursday. The Signature sur le Saint-Laurent (SSL) consortium, which is building the $4.2-billion span, will also be on hand.

News that the bridge won’t be ready on time is hardly surprising. In recent interviews, Champagne refused to commit to having the project completed by December.

Last May, Canada’s auditor general wrote a report that found it would be “very challenging” for the new Champlain Bridge to be ready by December. That same report found that delays in approving the bridge as well as design flaws cost taxpayers roughly $500 million. A 2017 strike that sidelined thousands of workers in Quebec’s construction sector also bogged down the project.

Should the SSL miss its deadline, Infrastructure Canada has the authority to impose penalties of up to $100,000 per day late for the first week and $400,000 per day after that. But the penalties are capped at $150 million.

The auditor general’s report also suggested Infrastructure Canada’s decision to use a public-private partnership before completing its procurement analysis was probably another factor in slowing things down.