Jacques Cartier Bridge
The Jacques Cartier Bridge (French: pont Jacques-Cartier) is a steel truss cantilever bridge crossing the Saint Lawrence River from Montreal Island, Montreal, Quebec, to the south shore at Longueuil, Quebec, Canada. The bridge crosses Saint Helen's Island in the centre of the river, where offramps allow access to the Parc Jean-Drapeau and La Ronde amusement park.
Jacques Cartier Bridge Pont Jacques-Cartier | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 45°31′15″N 73°32′06″W |
| Carries | 5 lanes of R-134 |
| Crosses | St. Lawrence River |
| Locale | Longueuil and Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Other name(s) | Montreal Harbour Bridge (1930-1934) |
| Owner | The Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Inc. |
| Maintained by | The Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Inc. |
| Website | pontjacquescartierbridge |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Cantilever bridge |
| Material | Steel |
| Total length | 2,765 m (9,072 ft) 3,425.6 m (11,239 ft) (including approaches) |
| Width | 23.1 m (76 ft) |
| Height | 104 m (341 ft) |
| Longest span | 334 m (1,096 ft) |
| No. of spans | 40 |
| Clearance below | 47.2 m (155 ft) at mid-span |
| No. of lanes | 5 |
| History | |
| Designer | Philip Louis Pratley |
| Constructed by | Dominion Bridge Company |
| Construction start | May 26, 1925 |
| Construction cost | C$23 million |
| Opened | May 14, 1930 |
| Inaugurated | May 24, 1930 |
| Statistics | |
| Daily traffic | 83,500 |
| Location | |
Originally named the Montreal Harbour Bridge (pont du Havre), it was renamed in 1934 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Jacques Cartier's first voyage up the St. Lawrence River.
The five-lane highway bridge is 3,425.6 m (11,239 ft) in length, including the approach viaducts. There are approximately 35.8 million vehicle crossings annually, making it the third busiest bridge in Canada, the first being Samuel-de-Champlain Bridge, just a few kilometres (miles) upstream. The second busiest bridge in Canada overall is the Port Mann Bridge in Metro Vancouver (connecting Surrey to Coquitlam).
Together with the Champlain Bridge, it is administered by the Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated (JCCBI), a Canadian Crown Corporation which reports to Infrastructure Canada.