After 18 months… Latour Bridge work is done !

During the re-building work, builders re-did a geometrical layout of Dollard Avenue - between De La Vérendrye Boulevard and Salley Street – to correct the misalignment. This meant that drivers had to change their usual route, allowing for the rehabilitation of underground infrastructure. To increase the capacity of the aqueduct network, a 500-metre duct for the main aqueduct and a storm water sewer were added. They are connected to the lines (ducts) of De La Vérendrye Boulevard and Champlain. A secondary aqueduct was also built on the Champlain terrace.

The City of Montreal financed the reconstruction work for the bridge’s structure. LaSalle Borough financed the re-alignment of Dollard Avenue until Salley Street.

On October 28, several people attended a ceremony celebrating the completion of the work executed by the Excel Excavation company: Sammy Forcillo, vice-president of the Executive Committee of the City of Montreal, Mayor Manon Barbe, official in charge of finance, infrastructure, road networks and water management, and Councillors Richard Deschamps, Alvaro Farinacci, Vincenzo Cesari, Ross Blackhurst and Laura Palestini.

Given its age, several parts of the bridge were deteriorating: retaining walls, girders, support devices, deck, road surface, parapets, water drains.

Mayor Manon Barbe was pleased with the bridge completion: “Constructed in 1921, this bridge has passed its useful life span and no longer met the needs of users. With its illuminated sidewalk, its bike path and four lanes, users will appreciate the new bridge. As one of only three access bridges from the Aqueduct to LaSalle, thousands of people use it every day. I thank the City of Montreal for having invested in the reconstruction. I take my hat off to residents and to road users who showed patienc. When the bridge was erected, the builders did vertical drops to accommodate frames for a tramway link that never arrived.This narrow bridge became a funnel and it was never safe to cross.”

Sammy Forcillo is proud of the results. “It goes beyond our hopes. I am happy that my fellow-citizens in LaSalle who travel on foot, by bike and by car can benefit from the major improvements. We added a new aqueduct pipe to ensure the supply of potable water to the community.”

The bridge will allow people to discover the escutcheons (crests) which appears on the structure. These shields were made of cast iron and not of bronze, and were placed in the exterior walls of the bridge so they were not at all visible. Now, users will be able to see them from two sides of the bridge.”