The newly built Champlain Bridge  is one of the most used bridges that crosses onto the island of Montreal from its South Shore. In 2019, the structure was opened to traffic in order to replace its older counterpart as part of a P3 project defined by the Canadian Federal Government.

The bridge spans a total length of 3.4 kilometres with a central, cable-stayed portion crossing a great portion of the St. Lawrence seaway. The bridge features North and South bound traffic directions, a central transit corridor that will host a light rail line as well as a pedestrian and bike lane.  

Our team conducted an in depth test of the central, cable-stayed portion of the bridge including the central tower and one of the central pylons. This test included:
 

• Defining a baseline for the central portion bridge

• A global test of the central portion of the bridge

• Conduction a separate analysis on the central tower and pylon

• Joint tests between the central and adjacent spans

All modal properties were examined through the post-processing of the data. These include the natural frequencies, the damping ratios and the mode shapes for this section of the bridge. This data was used for the calibration of the models of the bridge to get a better understanding of its behaviour.

All of the data points will be used as a baseline so that as the structure ages or before it is given to the government after Signature sur le Saint Laurent's 30-year ownership, the structure's integrity can be compared to its initial state at the time the test was taken.