Honoré Mercier Bridge
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| Honoré Mercier Bridge | |
|---|---|
 Underneath the Mercier Bridge in Kahnawake. |
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| Carries | 4 lanes of Route 138 |
| Crosses | St. Lawrence River |
| Locale | Kahnawake, Quebec and Montreal, Quebec |
| Total length | 1.361 km (0.846 mi) |
The Honoré Mercier Bridge in Quebec, Canada, connects the Montreal borough of LaSalle on the Island of Montreal with the Mohawk reserve of Kahnawake on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River. It carries Route 138, originally Route 4. It is 1.361 km (0.846 mi) in length and contains four steel trusses on its first section. The height of the bridge varies from 12.44 m (41 ft) to 33.38 m (110 ft) with the highest sections located over the St Lawrence Seaway. The bridge is named after former premier of Quebec Honoré Mercier.
The bridge has two lanes of traffic in each direction and a total span of nearly two kilometres. At its highest point, the bridge rises 36 metres above the river. There is a narrow sidewalk on the side headed to Chateauguay that can be crossed by foot or bicycle by the extremely adventurous.
An estimated 28 million vehicles use the bridge every year.
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[edit] History
Before the bridge was built there was a ferry service.
The Mercier was designed by 11 French-Canadian engineers, who were all graduates of the École Polytechnique de Montréal, and was built by the Dominion Bridge Company Ltd under a government-funded work program. Construction of the bridge began in November 1932 and was completed in the early summer of 1934. It was opened to traffic on June 22, 1934, 10 months ahead of schedule with a toll of 50¢ for an automobile and driver. Today there is no toll charged for crossing the bridge.
The original east approach was on Lafleur Avenue, which ran straight into the Gauron Bridge over the Lachine Canal.
The higher section over the Saint Laurence Seaway was added in the late 1950s. In August 1963, the Quebec Department of Public works sanctioned the construction of a "second" bridge downstream from the first. This increased the number of lanes from two to four.
[edit] Oka Crisis
During the Oka Crisis in July and August 1990, the bridge was closed to all traffic for over a month by Mohawks who supported their brothers from Kanesatake. This closure period led to violent tempers and clashes between Mohawks and people from Châteauguay, and the extension of Autoroute 30 bypassing the Kahnawake reserve.
[edit] Mohawks in Support of the Caledonia Group
During the Caledonia land dispute, certain individuals from Kahnawake erected Warrior and Confederacy flags on the steel trusses of the bridge to show their support.
The bridge was closed for a short period, in order to allow several men from the community to climb the structure and secure the flags. To ensure their safety, the Kahnawake Peacekeepers stopped traffic from the Kahnawake side of the bridge, while the Quebec Provincial Police blocked access on the Lasalle side. Several weeks later one of the Warrior flags was removed from the bridge and replaced with a Quebec flag (the red Warrior flag is barely visible in the above picture between the first 'V' section of the truss).
On June 29, 2007, Community members of Kahnawake staged a peaceful protest on the bridge, in support of the AFN's National Day of Action. Once again men from the community placed Warrior and Confederacy flags on the structure that spans the St. Lawrence Seaway.
[edit] Maintenance
The JCCBI (PJCCI in French: Ponts Jacques Cartier et Champlain Incorporée) is responsible for managing, operating and maintaining the Mercier Bridge.
[edit] References
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- The Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated JCCBI
- An overhead view of the Mercier
- Honoré Mercier Bridge (1934) in the Structurae database
- Honoré Mercier Bridge (1963) in the Structurae database
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