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A few days ago, workers installed the very last marine foundation of the new Champlain Bridge in the riverbed, thus concluding a series of operations that began a year ago.

It was on July 12, 2016, that we placed our first foundation at the bottom of the Saint Lawrence. It took a few days, since it was our very first one. Poseidon (specially designed for the project) and its crew needed to get accustomed to the river as well as all of the precision equipment required to successfully complete the task. After that, operations went smoothly and in optimal weather, we were able to put in two foundations per week.

This achievement is the product of teamwork throughout the prefabrication, marine excavation and installation of the foundations.

As Sylvain Tremblay, Area Manager at the precast yard, tells us, “I will always remember December 2015. Despite the gloomy and snowy weather, we poured the concrete for the first marine foundation that was going into the Saint Lawrence. Today, having prefabricated everything right here on site… It’s monumental.“

Alexandre Clouthier, Area Manager of the west approach, admits that overcoming the challenges that come with such massive operations is a source of pride: “I took the relay from Sylvain, since we installed the foundations his team built. Thanks to their great work, we were working in ideal conditions to reach our goal. At the start, the marine excavations were gruelling, but we solved each problem one at a time. We then got into a rhythm and installed the 38 foundations at a steady pace.”

 With this stage completed, construction of the new Champlain Bridge moves into a new phase above water, as we install segments, pier caps and, ultimately, box girders.

Here are two videos on installing the foundations in the water with time-lapse of the first river foundation and a video with unique underwater shots of the Saint Lawrence River.