1913 Saint-Laurent RR and 1934+1958+1963 Honoré (Honore) Mercier Bridges over St. Lawrence River at Kanahawake-Montreal, QC

Railroad: (Historic Bridges; Satellite)

Road: (Historic Bridges; Satellite)

There are two pairs of bridges.

First the pair over the South Shore Canal that ends at the St. Lambert Seaway Lock.

Obviously, the railroad bridge.

Street View, Nov 2020

Turning to my right, I see the road bridge.

Street View, Nov 2020

Viewing from the downstream side we get the railroad bridge in the background.

This is a Pennsylvania truss. [HistoricBridges_road]

Street View, Nov 2020

Then the pair over the river.

The railroad bridge.

Street View, Jun 2023

Southbound lanes. The northbound lanes are in the foreground, and the railroad bridge is in the background.

Street View, Jul 2016

The northbound lanes.

Street View, Sep 2024

There was a navigation channel on the south side of the river before the South Shore Canal was opened in 1958, thus all of the bridges have a through truss near the south bank.

Street View, Sep 2024

I could not get a good view of the lift bridge from the road bridge because a pedestrian fence was in the way. TI soon noticed that the fence was designed to discourage suicides.

Street View, Oct 2024

Richard Haydon posted
Train lift bridge at Kanahawake, Quebec. On the South Canal .

1932 construction of the Honoré Mercier Bridge

jacquescartierchamplain, Photo credit: BAnQ
"The bridge was opened to traffic on June 22, 1934, or 10 months before the scheduled completion date. It was originally 1361.25 m [4466'] long. Its main steel arch span was 121.87 m [400'] long, and it had 11 steel spans and 31 reinforced concrete spans."

This construction anticipated that a second bridge would be built across the river to provide 4 lanes of traffic.

jacquescartierchamplain
1958-59: "For the St. Lawrence Seaway construction project, the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) started work to raise and extend the south section so that ships could pass underneath."

jacquescartierchamplain
1963: The second bridge was built downstream of the 1932 bridge. It is managed by the provincial government, whereas the 1932 bridge is a federal bridge.
"In the provincial bridge, the bridge engineers had to devise an innovative method to erect the bridge piers, given the thick layer of glacier marl over the rock, the river’s depth, and the speed of the current. Since the St. Lawrence River is so deep at this point, the engineers decided not to use cofferdams and instead chose pneumatic caissons, a method that had not been used in Montreal in 25 years."

Government management was changed on Oct 1, 1998.

jacquescartierchamplain

HistoricBridges_road
The original bridge before the Seaway was built.

HistoricBridges_road
Construction of the second navigation span.

"This impressive through truss bridge sits on the location of an earlier famous continuous truss bridge from 1887. The previous bridge was one of the earliest continuous truss bridges ever built. The bridge seen today contains two impressive through truss main spans, and a variety of deck truss spans, some of different span lengths. The bridge serves two tracks and was built as two parallel superstructures, with the second superstructure built in the same place as the previous single track bridge after its demolition, with traffic flowing over the first new superstructure while the second superstructure was built. Thus, railway traffic was not interrupted by construction." [HistoricBridges_rail]

HistoricBridges_rail
"Historical photo showing construction of the current bridge, with the previous bridge visible in the background."

HistoricBridges_rail
"Historical photo showing construction of the previous bridge."

HistoricBridges_rail
Historical photo showing previous bridge.
[So the railroad was the Canadian Pacific. The steamboat reminds me that this was the navigation channel until the Seaway was built.]

Seaway International Bridges over St. Lawrence River at Cornwall, ON

1962 North Channel: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges)

1958 South Channel: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; Satellite, 14 photos)

South Channel.

CornwallSeawayNews, License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike (CC BY-SA) via BridgeHunter

This 2,480' (1061m) long bridge has a main span of 895' (273m). [HistoricBridges_south]

1958-2014 North Channel. The highest clearance was over the Cornwall Canal rather than the river.

Street View, Jul 2015

But the river had a fairly high clearance.

Street View, Jul 2015

The arched continuous truss main span is 414' (162m), and the length of the bridge is 5,350' (1631m). [HistoricBridges_north]

This bridge is also called the Three Nations Crossing because "an international Native American / First Nations reservation" is on part of the Cornwall Island. [BridgeHunter_north, HistoricBridges_north]

 

Photo from ezbordercrossing

2014 North Channel. The piers of the previous bridge have yet to be removed in 2017. Obviously, the girders are made with steel.

Street View, Aug 2017

The former south channel bridge is, in the foreground and the north channel bridge is in the background.

HistoricBridges_north

South Channel Predecessor Bridge

Chris Granger posted two images with the comment:

Cornwall, Ontario....September 6, 1898 and it was the day that a priest from Ottawa travelled to Russell and blessed the O&NY line.  Two hours later, which was also the amount of time photographer J.A. Noel finished his photos for the daily progression of construction for the St. Lawrence Bridges happened.  Just before Noon there was a loud sound of metal crashing against one another.  Noel went back to the south channel bridge and saw this.  Two of the three spans disappeared into the river, taking with it 15 souls and injuring 18 more.

The released report of what happened was that the Sooysmith Company did not properly find bedrock to build the piers.  What they thought was solid rock turned out to be 5 feet of gravel and beneath that was 20 feet of soft clay before bedrock.  Pier 2 collapsed from the weight of the steel work.  Phoenix Bridge Company was also found to be at fault.

A history tidbit, the centre span was found to be too heavy and the river current too swift to be retrieved so it was left in the river since the south channel did not have navigation ships use it and it was all but forgotten until 1957.  With the St. Lawrence Seaway using the south channel the bridge was removed (replaced with today's suspension bridge) and the dredges found the sunken steel work and had to get it removed before they could make the channel deeper for ocean ships.  Photos from the Cornwall Community Museum

1

2

HistoricBridges_south, this webpage also has historical photos of the North Channel bridge.
"The former South Channel Bridge was opened to traffic in 1900....When both former bridges served vehicular traffic, they were called the Roosevelt International Bridges, a name given in 1934."

1967,2007 The Laviolette Bridge over St. Lawrence River at Trois-Rivières, QC

(Historic Bridges; Satellite, 78 photos)

The 8,881' (2,707m) long bridge has a main span of 1,100' (335M). "The tallest point of the bridge structure is 350 feet [107m], and the highest point of the deck is 180 feet [55m]." [HistoricBridges]

Street View, Aug 2014

Bridges Now and Then posted
"December 20, 1967. The Laviolette Bridge was officially opened in the Canadian province of Quebec. This arch bridge, which spans the Saint Lawrence River, carries two lanes of vehicular traffic in each direction via the major highway Autoroute 55. The Laviolette Bridge links the city of Trois-Rivières on the north shore of the river with the city of Bécancour on the south shore. (The bridge’s namesake is Sieur de Laviolette, a 17th century French settler who is widely acknowledged as the founder of Trois-Rivières.) The Laviolette Bridge has also been a vital connection between Quebec City on the river’s north shore and the southwestern part of the province." (Photo Credit: John White)

pomerleau
The bridge was rehabilitated in 2007.

tourismetroisrivieres, 1 of 5 photos
"Today, it is still the longest metal frame bridge in Québec." It is used by 40,000 vehicles per day.

1899-1958 Soulanges Canal on the St. Lawrence River

Lower Entrance: (Satellite)

Lock #1: (Satellite) Lift: 23.5' (7m)

Lock #2: (Satellite) Lift: 23.5' (7m)

Lock #3: (Satellite) Lift: 23.5' (7m)

A-30 Road Tunnel: (Satellite)

Lock #4: (Satellite) Lift: 12' (3.7m)

Guard Gate: (Satellite) This was closed in case of emergencies.

Powerhouse: (Satellite)

RR Bobtail Bridge: (Satellite)

Lock #5: (Satellite) Lift: 1' (0.3m)

Upstream Entrance: (Satellite)

The locks are 280' (85m) x 46' (14m) x 15' (4.6m) [stlawrencepiks]

Lock #1 is in the foreground and Lock #2 is in the background.

Association for Great Lakes Maritime History posted

An image of a steamer passing through a lock of the Soulanges Canal near Montreal, Quebec, dated Aug. 23, 1958 (Library of Congress – U.S. News & World Report Photograph Collection). A high-resolution copy of the photograph shows the vessel to be the freighter Fernie.

Additional Historical Information – Soulanges Canal

The Soulanges Canal followed the north shore of the St. Lawrence River between Pointe-des-Cascades and Couteaux-Landing, Que. The 14-mile-long canal enabled vessels to bypass the rapids between Lake Saint-Louis and Lake Saint-Francis.

Operation of the canal and its lock was powered by a small hydro-electric power station. The station also provided electricity for illumination, making the Soulanges Canal the first in the world to be lit at night, allowing for round-the-clock operation. 

First opened in 1890, the canal and its locks remained in operation until 1958 when they were replaced by an enlarged Beauharnois Canal which became part of the St. Lawrence Seaway. After it closed, there were plans to re-open the Soulanges for pleasure boats, but they never materialized. Today, it is a popular cycling trail and park.

Information Sources:

https://canaldesoulanges.ca/the-canals-history/?lang=en

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soulanges_Canal

stlawrencepiks
The Old Beauharnois Canal was completed in 1845. The Soulanges Canal opened in 1899. The Beauharnois Power Canal opened in 1932. The two locks at the end of the power canal were added by 1959 as part of the St. Lawrence Seaway project. The Soulanges Canal was closed when the Seaway opened because those two locks could do the work of the five locks on the old canal.

stlawrencepiks, National Geographic photo. This page has a lot of photos of freighters on the canal.
Eastern Shell is leaving Lock #1; and, in the background, a salty is leaving Lock #3.

All of the road swing bridges have been replaced with fixed bridges. And new crossings just filled in the canal.

Satellite

The railroad bridge is still a swing bridge. This view also catches the northern historical bridge over the water bypass next to Lock #5. We can see that it is a series of stone arches. Historic Bridges has photos of the southern bridge.

Street View, Aug 2022

The railroad bridge is a bobtail bridge instead of a swing bridge because the water bypass channel is wider than the canal. The bypass channel is the reason why the lock's lift is only 1' (0.3m).

Satellite

Lock #3:

Dennis Jarvis Flickr, License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike (CC BY-SA)
Quebec-00151 - Lock number 3 of the Soulanges Canal.

Dennis Jarvis Flickr, License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike (CC BY-SA)
Quebec-00141 - Lock number 3 of the Soulanges Canal.

Lock #4:

Street View, Sep 2022
The road shows the hill that required a lock to be used here.

In the 1800s, canals were built around rapids in the St. Lawrence River for upbound traffic. Since the freighters were built to the dimensions of the locks, they were called "canallers." To go downbound, the canallers, and passenger ships, would shoot the rapids. That must have been interesting.

CanalDeSoulanges_history, this web page has a history of the canal.
"At this area, the river has a series of rapids, formed by four slope breaks totaling a drop of 25,6 [84'] meters over 12,8 kilometers [8 miles]."

CanalDeSoulanges_history
They had to dig through rock strewn clay on top of sandy soil. The rocks in the clay made it hard to remove the dirt, and the clay on top of sand made it hard to keep the dirt out of the canal. Because of those landslides, extra work was needed to prevent the shores from caving in.

The powerhouse:

Photo: CanalDeSoulanges_heritage; Text: CanalDeSoulanges_history
"This hydroelectric energy was provided by a small power plant, built in 1899 by engineer Thomas Monro, located at the meeting point of the Soulanges canal and the rivière à la Graisse in Les Cèdres. This location. chosen because of its six-meter [19.7'] drop between the canal and the river, ensured sufficient hydraulic force to turn the turbines of the power plant. Although designed for an industrial purpose, the architecture of this building stands out by its “castle” style that was in vogue in the 1870s and that we can find in a series of hotels, such as the Château Frontenac in Quebec City."
Electric streetlamps strung along the canal allowed ships to go through the canal at night as well as during the day.

Street View, Jul 2019

Beauharnois Canal, Locks, Dam and 1932+1951+1961 1.9gw Powerhouse

Lower Lock: (Satellite)

Upper Lock: (Satellite)

Powerhouse: (Satellite)

Dam: (Satellite, actually, the powerhouse is the dam)

Herbert Suspension Bridge: (Satellite)

Road Tunnel: (Satellite)

RR Bridge: (Satellite, it looks like a bobtail (offset swing) bridge)

A-30 Bridge: (Satellite)

The rapids that this canal bypasses "has a series of rapids, formed by four slope breaks totaling a drop of 25,6 [84'] meters over 12,8 kilometers [8 miles]." [CanalDeSoulanges] So each lock probably has a lift of 42' (12.8m).

This Seaway canal along the south side of the river replaces an 1899 canal along the north side of the river.

 

John Van de Broek posted
Saturday morning drive by from the A30 up bound near Montreal…

Dennis DeBruler: Upper and Lower Beauharnois Locks, https://maps.app.goo.gl/WJo8p36X9zVXYqQf8.

 

stlawrencepiks, this has more maps and construction photos of the locks
"This map illustrates three sets of canals that were built in this area between Lake St. Francis and Lake St. Louis. The old Beauharnois Canal that ran from Valleyfield to Melocheville, (not shown), the Soulanges Canal that bypassed the rapids by going north of the river and the Beauharnois Power and Seaway Canal."

The canal is on the right side of this photo.

HydroQuebec

Street View, Oct 2022

Note the suspension bridge on the right.

Street View, Oct 2022

Street View, Oct 2022

After heading north from the bridges over the tailrace of the powerhouse, one comes to the tunnel under the Seaway canal. It looks like they moved more rock in the cuts to the approaches than from the tunnel itself.

Street View, Jun 2022

In the foreground is the railroad drawbridge and Lock #2. I looked at every street view available, and the upper rail hid Lock #1 and the top of the powerhouse in each one.

Street View, Aug 2022

This satellite image allowed me to identify the railroad drawbridge as a bobtail bridge. But what makes this particularly noteworthy is that one of the miter gates has been augmented by sector gates. I've seen sector gates before in rather low-lift locks, but this lock has a rather high lift. Judging from some of the photos, they normally use the miter gates.

Satellite

HydroQuebec_history
The plant was built in three phases. The first phase was completed in 1932 and included the headrace canal and 14 generating units. The second phase finished in 1951 and added 12 units. The third phase added 10 units by 1961
The plant is 926m (0.58 miles) long.

HydroQuebec_history, 1956-1961 on the timeline.

Milieu
"The Beauharnois Power Station is capable of generating 1,911 MW at a maximum flow of 8,200 m3/s.[1m3 = 35.3cu.ft. so the flow is 290kcfs. (Can fill 3 Olympic-sized pools every second.)]...There are 36 turbines in total, 26 of which are Francis Turbines and a further 10 conventional blade [Kaplan] turbines....The Beauharnois canal brings water from Lake Saint-Francis to the dam. It is 24,5 km [15 miles] long by approximately 1 km [0.6 mile] wide for a maximum depth of 9m [30m]. In front of the dam the depth can reach 20m."

That flow is just a fraction of the river's flow. There is another hydroelectric plant in the river itself.

Satellite

Gallery

Gallery

The draft of ships using the St. Lawrence Seaway is 8m (26') [Dennis DeBruler], so the 9m depth of the headrace canal could handle the Salties. Thus the Seaway construction simply had to add a couple of locks on the west side of the headrace.

Satellite

Looking Southish or upstream:

marinas

Looking Northish or upstream:

Michael Restoule posted
Ecosse ,Miss MJ and Vigilant 1 in the upper and lower Beauharnois locks Quebec

Skye Media Quebec posted

Did you know that?

Beauharnois locks have 2 layers of water. The first level at Lock 3 is open to the public, but the second level, even later, is not. Here is a unique view of Lock 4 that goes under the Madeleine Parent Bridge of Highway 30 and gives access to the Beauharnois Canal. It takes about 1 hour per platform to raise the 2 levels of water for the ships.

[This was auto translated from French.]

Skye Media Quebec shared