Like most major cities, Montreal needs easy highway access from its suburbs and surrounding areas. However, because Montreal was built on an island surrounded by three rivers, it can be accessed by land only on a bridge or through a tunnel. Although the city was founded in 1642, it was not until 1847 that the first fixed link to the outside was established when a wooden bridge was built across Rivière des Prairies to Île Jésus, on the site of what is now Ahuntsic Bridge. Another bridge was built immediately afterward, a few kilometers west, which became Lachapelle Bridge, and another in 1849, Pont des Saints-Anges, to the east. The latter bridge collapsed in the 1880s and was never rebuilt.
With the advent of the railroad, Montreal got a fixed link to the mainland; in 1854 railroad bridges were built in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, across both channels of the Ottawa River, linking Montreal Island to Ontario and the Vaudreuil-Soulanges peninsula through Perrot Island. In 1860, Montreal got its first link to the South Shore with the construction of Victoria Bridge, which was, at the time of its opening, the longest bridge in the world. Indirect links to the North Shore also had to wait for railroad construction, but this took longer; the Canadian Pacific Railway opened its link to Saint-Jérôme in 1876, through Île Jésus.
Crossings This list of bridges and other fixed links serving the Island of Montreal proceeds counter-clockwise around the island from southwest, at the exit of Lake Saint-Louis, downstream along the St. Lawrence River, then upstream along Rivière des Prairies all the way to Lake of Two Mountains, then downstream again along the East Channel of the Ottawa River until it reaches Lake Saint-Louis. The year of construction is that of the structure currently in place, accompanied by the year of construction of the original structure if the current one replaced an older span.
Key: Communities linked by individual bridges
Spanning the Saint Lawrence River and Saint Lawrence Seaway The crossing of the Saint Lawrence River has always proved problematic for engineers due to width, depth, currents, and ice cover. The construction of Victoria Bridge for the Grand Trunk Railway, which, at , was the longest bridge in the world when it first opened in 1860, highlighted the problems presented by this natural obstacle. Not to be outdone by its rival, however, the Canadian Pacific Railway built its own span, the Saint-Laurent Railway Bridge, upstream from the Lachine Rapids in 1886 for which the Mohawks of Kahnawake were hired to erect the steel superstructure. Although Victoria Bridge was also used as a road crossing since 1898, it was not before the 1930s that two fully dedicated road bridges, Jacques-Cartier and Mercier, were built. More spans, including Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine Bridge–Tunnel and Champlain Bridge, were built in the 1960s. |language=French No new span was built for over 50 years, until a replacement Champlain Bridge was constructed at the cost of several billion dollars. It opened in 2019, while the previous span was closed to traffic to be demolished.
The construction of the Saint Lawrence Seaway in the 1950s required extensive modifications for all spans that existed at the time. Those are not reflected in the table below.
SpanPictureFirst span builtCurrent span builtCommunities linkedCarriesName originCoordinatesSaint-Laurent Railway Bridge18861910(M) Borough of LaSalleSaint Lawrence River(O) Kahnawake Mohawk ReserveHonoré Mercier Bridge1934, 1963(M) Borough of LaSalleRoute 138Honoré Mercier (1840–1894), Premier of Quebec(O) Kahnawake Mohawk ReserveChamplain Bridge Ice Structure1964(M) Borough of VerdunRoute Verte 1 and 2Samuel de Champlain (c. 1580–1635), founder of Quebec City(O) St. Lawrence Seaway leveeSamuel De Champlain Bridge19622019(M) Borough of Verdun Autoroutes 10, 15, and 20(I) Île des Sœurs (exit)(O) BrossardVictoria Bridge18601898(M) Borough of Le Sud-OuestQueen Victoria of the United Kingdom (1819–1901)(O) Saint-LambertPont de la Concorde and Pont des Îles1965(M) Borough of Ville-MariePierre-Dupuy Avenue and Route Verte 1 and 2Reference to Montreal's motto, Concordia salus (Pont de la Concorde) (Pont des Îles)(O) Île Sainte-Hélène and Île Notre-Dame (Parc Jean-Drapeau), borough of Ville-Marie, MontrealMontreal Metro Tunnel1966(M) Borough of Ville-Marie (Berri–UQAM station) Line 4 Yellow(I) Île Sainte-Hélène (Jean-Drapeau station) and Île Notre-Dame(O) Longueuil, borough of Vieux-Longueuil (Longueuil–Université-de-Sherbrooke station)Jacques Cartier Bridge1930(M) Borough of Ville-MarieRoute 134 Pedestrians and bicyclesJacques Cartier (1491–1557), French explorer(I) Île Sainte-Hélène (exit) and Île Notre-Dame(O) Longueuil, borough of Vieux-LongueuilLouis-Hippolyte Lafontaine Bridge–Tunnel1967(M) Borough of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve Autoroute 25/Trans-Canada HighwayLouis-Hippolyte Lafontaine (1807–1864), Prime Minister of the United Province of Canada(I) Île Charron (Îles de Boucherville) (exit)(O) Longueuil, borough of Vieux-Longueuil
Spanning the Rivière des Prairies
Although the Rivière des Prairies is much smaller than the Saint Lawrence, bridge construction there did not begin until the 1840s—when rapid construction began on three wooden toll bridges to what is now Laval, one of which, Pont des Saints-Anges, collapsed in the 1880s and was never rebuilt. The existence of regular ferry services across the river is attested from 1813, but these ferries were discontinued when the bridges opened. The first railroad across the river was opened in 1876, and the Bordeaux Railway Bridge is the oldest fixed link to Laval that is still standing. (Another bridge across Rivière des Mille Îles, which was part of the same line, collapsed in 1882 but was immediately rebuilt.) The highway construction boom of the 1960s and 1970s led to the construction of four new freeway bridges across the river, and the upgrading of the existing Pie IX Bridge to freeway standards.
SpanPictureFirst span builtCurrent span builtCommunities linkedCarriesName originCoordinatesLe Gardeur Bridge1939 (widened 1975)(M) Borough of Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles Route 138 and Route Verte 5Pierre Le Gardeur de Repentigny (1605–1648), French lord(I) Île Bourdon(O) RepentignyLaurier Railway Bridge1904(M) Borough of Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-TremblesWilfrid Laurier (1841–1919), Prime Minister of Canada(I) Île Bourdon(O) CharlemagneCharles de Gaulle Bridge1965(M) Borough of Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles Autoroute 40Charles de Gaulle (1890–1970), President of France(O) CharlemagneOlivier-Charbonneau Bridge2011 (M) Borough of Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles Autoroute 25Olivier Charbonneau (c.1613-1687), first European settler of Île Jésus.(O) Laval (Saint-François)Pie IX Bridge19371967(M) Borough of Montreal North Route 125Pope Pius IX (1792–1878)(O) Laval (Saint-Vincent-de-Paul)Centrale de la Rivière des Prairies1930[Hydro-Québec](M) Borough of Ahuntsic-CartiervilleHydro-Québec Rivière des Prairies(I) Île de la Visitation and Île du Cheval de Terre(O) Laval (Duvernay)Papineau-Leblanc Bridge1969(M) Borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville Autoroute 19Louis-Joseph Papineau (1786–1871), leader of the Patriote movementAlpha Leblanc (1908–1962), local landowner(I) Île de la Visitation(O) Laval (Duvernay)Viau Bridge (Ahuntsic Bridge)18471962 (widened 1993)(M) Borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville Route 335Ahuntsic, Huron boy who drowned in 1625 The origin of the name Viau is uncertain.(O) Laval (Pont-Viau)Montreal Metro Tunnel2007(M) Borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville (Henri-Bourassa station) Line 2 Orange(O) Laval (Cartier station)Bordeaux Railway Bridge1876(M) Borough of Ahuntsic-CartiervilleBordeaux, former town(I) Île PerryÎle Perry(O) Laval (Laval-des-Rapides)Médéric Martin Bridge1958 (widened 1991)(M) Borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville Autoroute 15/Trans-Canada HighwayMédéric Martin (1869–1946), Mayor of Montreal(O) Laval (Laval-des-Rapides)Lachapelle Bridge (Cartierville Bridge)18481930, 1975(M) Borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville Route 117Pascal Persillier-Lachapelle, builder of the first bridge(O) Laval (Chomedey)Louis Bisson Bridge1975(M) Borough of Pierrefonds-Roxboro Autoroute 13Louis Bisson (1909–1997), Canadian aviator(O) Laval (Chomedey / Sainte-Dorothée)Île Bigras railway crossing1916(M) Borough of Pierrefonds-RoxboroCN Formerly used by the Deux-Montagnes commuter train (currently being replaced by the Réseau express métropolitain)(no official name)(I) (Île Bigras)Île-Bigras commuter train station(O) Laval (Sainte-Dorothée)Guy Lafleur Bridge19662024(M) Sainte-Geneviève, Montreal, borough of L'Île-Bizard–Sainte-GenevièveBoulevard Jacques BizardGuy Lafleur (1951–2022), ice hockey player and local resident(O) Île Bizard (Montreal, borough of L'Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève)
Spanning the Lake of Two Mountains and the Ottawa River East Channel The first railway bridge to Montreal Island was the Grand Trunk Railway bridge across the Ottawa River East Channel. Along with another bridge built simultaneously across the West Channel, this bridge provided the first fixed link from Montreal to the mainland. It was not until 1925, however, that a fixed road link, formed by Galipeault Bridge and Taschereau Bridge, was built across the Ottawa River from Montreal Island. Île Perrot was the only way out of Montreal to the West before the construction of Île aux Tourtes Bridge, which goes directly to Vaudreuil across the Lake of Two Mountains.
All three spans across the Ottawa River East Channel are twinned by another span, built simultaneously, across the West Channel.
SpanPictureFirst span builtCurrent span builtCommunities linkedCarriesName originCoordinatesÎle aux Tourtes Bridge1966(M) Senneville Autoroute 40/Trans-Canada HighwayÎle aux Tourtes (literally, Wild Pigeon island)Fiche descriptive(Across Lake of Two Mountains)(I) Île Girwood, Île aux Tourtes(O) Vaudreuil-DorionCanadian Pacific Rail Bridge1893(M) Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue(no official names)(Across Canal Sainte-Anne)(I) Île Bellevue(O) Île PerrotCanadian National Rail Bridge1854(M) Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue(Across Canal Sainte-Anne)(I) Île Bellevue(O) Île PerrotGalipeault Bridge19251991, 2009(M) Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Autoroute 20 and Route Verte 5Antonin Galipeault (1879–1971), Quebec politician(Across Canal Sainte-Anne)(I) Île Bellevue(O) Île Perrot
See also
Crossings of the Canal de l'Aqueduc Crossings of the Lachine Canal List of crossings of the Ottawa River List of crossings of the Rivière des Mille Îles Rivière des Prairies List of crossings of the Rivière des Prairies List of crossings of the Saint Lawrence River List of hydroelectric stations in Quebec List of bridges in Canada
Notes The section of Honoré-Mercier bridge spanning over the St. Lawrence Seaway was rebuilt to seaway standards in the 1950s. The bridge was twinned by an identical one, on the downriver side, which opened in 1963.
The Champlain Bridge Ice Structure, known in French as "l'Estacade Champlain," was built to control ice floes coming from the Laprairie Basin.
At the north end of Champlain Bridge, two spans, one north-south (aut. 15 and 20) and one east-west (aut. 10) connect Île des Sœurs to I. of Montreal. These two spans, called Pont Île-des-Sœurs and Pont Clément, are part of the Champlain Bridge complex.
Victoria Bridge was built as a one-track tubular bridge which opened in 1860. It was the first bridge to cross the St. Lawrence River, and the longest bridge in the world. It was rebuilt as a two-track truss bridge in 1898. The South Y approach was rebuilt around the Saint-Lambert locks of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1961.
Pont de la Concorde (Concorde Bridge) and Pont des Îles ("Bridge of the Islands") were built for Expo 67. Pont de la Concorde connects Montreal Island to Saint Helen's Island, while Pont des Îles connects Saint Helen's Island to Notre-Dame Island.