Canam fears seeing the Île d’Orléans bridge being manufactured abroad

Could the new Île d’Orléans bridge be built abroad? This possibility greatly worries the Quebec company Canam Bridges, which fears that this major project will slip through its fingers.

The management of the company, owned by the Dutil family, is concerned to see the consortium (EBC/Dragados) chosen by Quebec to carry out this project favor the use of components manufactured and welded in the factory, a technique used throughout the world, but difficult to achieve by Canam.

Unlike what Quebec wants, Canam Bridges is instead proposing to deliver the bridge in three large structures that it would assemble and bolt on site, as was done in the past for the Champlain Bridge and the majority of structures of its kind. in North America.

“Our facilities are not on the water’s edge, which prevents us from delivering a bridge of this size, factory-made in one piece, using a barge like many of our competitors, in the Maritimes, in Europe and in Asia, explains Mathias Dutil, vice-president and general manager of the Canadian division of Canam Bridges.

Mathias Dutil is the son of Marc Dutil and the grandson of Marcel Dutil, Chairman of the Board of the Canam Group. “For us, who are only 11 km from the Île d’Orléans bridge,” he continues, “the only option is road transport by truck. But with the weight of such a structure, the viaducts and other obstacles on the land route, it would not be possible other than in large pieces.

No local requirements

The situation worries Canam, which has been manufacturing bridge components in its Quebec factory since 1956. She is all the more worried, she says, because the $2.8 billion project in which Quebec is involved would not currently have any Canadian or Quebec content requirements.

“How is it possible? asks Mr. Dutil. You never see that anywhere else. Among our neighbors to the South, all projects must be carried out on American territory with entirely American content. Why is it different here?”

The company emphasizes that it carries out hundreds of projects across Canada each year. In addition to the Champlain and Gordie Howe bridges, between Detroit and Windsor, Canam is involved in the construction of the Île-aux-Tourtes bridge in Montreal.

In recent years, it says it has invested $60 million in its Quebec plant, making it one of the most modern in North America. No fewer than 350 people currently work there.

Radio silence in Quebec

The consortium, led by the company EBC, did not respond to our interview requests on Wednesday. The same goes for the office of the Minister of Economy and Innovation, Pierre Fitzgibbon.

The office of the Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault, responded to us for its part that it declined our request for an interview or reaction on the subject.

According to the most recent estimates presented by Quebec, the reconstruction of the Île d’Orléans bridge must cost the Quebec Treasury $2.8 billion. A little over 2 kilometers long, work on this bridge should be completed in 2033.