The New Champlain Bridge is a 3 km-long bridge spanning the Saint Lawrence River at the southeastern entrance of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. As one of the busiest bridges in Canada, it plays a crucial economic role for the city, serving as a key route to the United States, located 60 km south.

Replacing the Older Champlain Bridge

The New Champlain Bridge is replacing the existing Champlain Bridge, which was commissioned in June 1962. The older structure began showing signs of corrosion in 1994. After several temporary safety measures were implemented to keep the bridge operational, a replacement project was initiated in 2007. For a time, both bridges will stand side by side until the older structure is fully dismantled, with most of its materials planned for recycling.

A Focus on Corrosion Resistance

The New Champlain Bridge is designed to last at least 125 years and accommodate 50 million vehicle crossings per year. Given the corrosive environment caused by frequent road de-icing, corrosion resistance was a top priority. Duplex stainless steel rebar was installed in critical areas to enhance durability.

For this project, Dextra recommended using Duplex Stainless Steel Rolltec couplers and anchors. This specialized version of our Rolltec® system replaces standard couplers and anchors with an improved duplex steel alternative, offering superior corrosion resistance.

The Rolltec® solution is well-suited to the Canadian market and is approved by the Quebec Ministry of Transport. With a single-operator threading machine and 30-second threading cycles, it provides high productivity, making it ideal for high-labor-cost markets like Canada.

More than 10,000 Stainless Rolltec® couplers were supplied for this project, primarily for bridge spans. These couplers were used to splice large-diameter reinforcement bars, ranging from 35M (#11) to 55M (#18)—the largest size available in our Rolltec® range.

Additionally, about 10,000 Rolltec® stainless steel end anchors were delivered for sizes up to 55M (#18). Rolltec® Headed Bars use the same threading system as the couplers, simplifying production and installation.