Ontario Erectors Association

MONTREAL — An SNC-Lavalin-led consortium has finalized a nearly $4-billion agreement with Ottawa to build a new Champlain Bridge in Montreal.Under the deal, the Signature on the Saint-Laurent Group joint venture will design, build, finance and operate the span for 30 years until October 2049 .

SNC-Lavalin (TSX:SNC) said the consortium has in turn awarded a $2.15-billion construction contract to another joint venture in which it has a 50 per cent stake.

The current bridge across the St. Lawrence River is one of the business crossings in the country with 40 million to 60 million cars, trucks and buses passing over it each year.

Construction of the new span is set to begin this summer and be completed by the end of 2018, with the rest of the project finished in 2019. It will also include a small bridge for Nun’s Island, reconstruction of the federal portion of a highway in the area and the operation of tolls.

Overall, the project is expected to cost $4.24 billion and create about 30,000 jobs.

Canam Group (TSX:CAM) has said it has won the largest contract in the steel company’s history after being selected to supply steel and fabricate the superstructure for the bridge.