Pierre Laporte Bridge

Pierre Laporte Bridge

Pierre Laporte Bridge, northbound.
Coordinates 46°44′42″N 71°17′27″W / 46.74500°N 71.29083°W / 46.74500; -71.29083Coordinates: 46°44′42″N 71°17′27″W / 46.74500°N 71.29083°W / 46.74500; -71.29083
Carries Autoroute 73
Crosses St. Lawrence River
Locale Quebec City and Lévis, Quebec
Official name Pont Pierre-Laporte
Characteristics
Design Suspension bridge
Total length 1,041 m (3,415 ft)
Longest span 667.5 m (2,190 ft)
Number of lanes 6
History
Construction cost $55 million CAD[1]
Opened 1970[1]
Statistics
Daily traffic 122,000
Toll Free

The Pierre Laporte Bridge (French: Pont Pierre-Laporte) is the longest main span suspension bridge in Canada.[2] It crosses the Saint Lawrence River approximately 200 metres (660 ft) west of the famous Quebec Bridge between historic Quebec City and Lévis, Quebec. It is the longest non-tolled suspension bridge in the world.[1]

It was originally named the New Quebec Bridge and was supposed to be called Pont Frontenac (Frontenac Bridge) until it was renamed in honour of Quebec Vice-Premier Pierre Laporte, who was kidnapped and murdered during the October Crisis of 1970 as construction of the bridge was nearing completion. The bridge was constructed for the Province of Quebec, Department of Roads in a joint venture with the private firm of Parsons Transportation Group.

It carries Autoroute 73, north from Autoroute 20, the Trans-Canada Highway, to Quebec City and Autoroute 40, and northwards towards Saguenay, Quebec.

Quebec and Pierre-Laporte Bridges in winter.
Pierre-Laporte Bridge (May 2015).
View from under the north side of the bridge.

Specifications

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Pierre Laporte Bridge". Montreal Roads.
  2. ↑ Although Île d'Orléans Bridge is over 4 km in total length, its longest suspended span is 323 m and its total suspended length is 677 m, less than Pierre Laporte's 1,041 meters full length.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pont Pierre-Laporte.


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/7/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.