The Laviolette Bridge was opened to traffic in December 1967 and carries Highway 55 over the St. Lawrence River. Connecting the cities of Trois-Rivières and Bécancour and used daily by nearly 40,000 vehicles, the Laviolette Bridge is essential to the movement of people and goods across regions of Quebec. It is currently the only roadway link across the St. Lawrence River between Quebec City and Montreal.
The 2.7 km structure comprises 37 spans supported by 15 piers in the northern section and 21 piers in the southern section, with a central section of a single span suspended with arched trusses. As a critical link for the region, the structure requires rehabilitation to extend its service life and reduce the need for ongoing repairs.
Rehabilitation includes replacement of the concrete deck of the central span, major repair of structural elements such as abutments, piers and steel components of the deck, as well as other important rehabilitative measures. As part of a consortium, EXP provided the initial feasibility, preliminary design and final design for the rehabilitation. Construction uses the Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC) method, and the bridge will remain open to traffic throughout construction.
Rehabilitation of the bridge integrated significant environmental protection measures on shore. An ecological study of the areas at the base and underneath the bridge’s north and south approaches determined ecological characteristics of areas potentially impacted by the project. Mitigation measures addressed the presence of large colonies of invasive exotic plant species in the surrounding area, as well as protection of peregrine falcons nesting within the structure.
Services
Bridge Design, Civil, Structural, Environmental, Pavement, Lighting Design, Electrical, UAV/Drone Services, Building Information Modeling (BIM)