List of bridges to the Island of Montreal

Bridges are required to connect Montreal to the mainland (gray).

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 entered by land only on a bridge or through a tunnel. Although the city was founded in 1642,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref name=Laval>Template:Cite book</ref> The latter bridge collapsed in the 1880s and was never rebuilt.<ref name=Laval/>

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.<ref name="CN Sainte-Anne">Template:Cite book </ref> 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.<ref name=Sweetster>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref name=Laval/>

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
Template:Legend

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 Template:Convert, was the longest bridge in the world when it first opened in 1860,<ref name=Sweetster/> highlighted the problems presented by this natural obstacle.<ref name=Victoria>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} </ref> 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<ref name=Saint-Laurent> Template:Cite journal</ref> for which the Mohawks of Kahnawake were hired to erect the steel superstructure.<ref name=Saint-Laurent_Mohawks> Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref name=JC>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=Mercier>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} </ref> More spans, including Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine Bridge–Tunnel and Champlain Bridge, were built in the 1960s.<ref name=Champlain>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=Lafontaine>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} |language=French </ref> 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.

Span	Picture	First span built	Current span built	Communities linked	Carries	Name origin	Coordinates
Saint-Laurent Railway Bridge		1886	1910<ref name=Saint-Laurent/>	(M) Borough of LaSalle	Template:Ubl	Saint Lawrence River	Template:Coord
				(O) Kahnawake Mohawk Reserve
Honoré Mercier Bridge		— {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	1934, 1963<ref name=Mercier/>Template:Ref label	(M) Borough of LaSalle	Route 138	Honoré Mercier (1840–1894), Premier of Quebec	Template:Coord
				(O) Kahnawake Mohawk Reserve
Champlain Bridge Ice Structure		— {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	1964<ref name=ChamplainIce>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }} </ref>Template:Ref label	(M) Borough of Verdun	Route Verte 1 and 2	Samuel de Champlain (c. 1580–1635), founder of Quebec City	Template:Coord
				(O) St. Lawrence Seaway levee
Samuel De Champlain Bridge		1962<ref name=Champlain/>Template:Ref label	2019	(M) Borough of Verdun	Autoroutes 10, 15, and 20	Template:Coord
				(I) Île des Sœurs (exit)
				(O) Brossard
Victoria Bridge		1860	1898<ref name=Victoria/>Template:Ref label	(M) Borough of Le Sud-Ouest	Template:Ubl	Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (1819–1901)	Template:Coord
				(O) Saint-Lambert
Pont de la Concorde and Pont des Îles		— {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	1965<ref name=Concorde>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }} </ref>Template:Ref label	(M) Borough of Ville-Marie	Pierre-Dupuy Avenue and Route Verte 1 and 2	Reference to Montreal's motto, Concordia salus<ref name=Concorde/>	Template:Coord (Pont de la Concorde) Template:Coord (Pont des Îles)
				(O) Île Sainte-Hélène and Île Notre-Dame (Parc Jean-Drapeau), borough of Ville-Marie, Montreal
Montreal Metro Tunnel		— {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	1966<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }} </ref>	(M) Borough of Ville-Marie (Berri-UQAM station)	Template:Ric Template:Ric Line 4 Yellow	— {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Template:Coord
				(I) Île Sainte-Hélène (Jean-Drapeau station) and Île Notre-Dame
				(O) Longueuil, borough of Vieux-Longueuil (Longueuil–Université-de-Sherbrooke station)
Jacques Cartier Bridge		— {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	1930<ref name=JC/>Template:Ref label	(M) Borough of Ville-Marie	Route 134 Pedestrians and bicycles	Jacques Cartier (1491–1557), French explorer	Template:Coord
				(I) Île Sainte-Hélène (exit) and Île Notre-Dame
				(O) Longueuil, borough of Vieux-Longueuil
Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine Bridge–Tunnel		— {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	1967<ref name=Lafontaine/>Template:Ref label	(M) Borough of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve	Autoroute 25/Trans-Canada Highway	Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine (1807–1864), Prime Minister of the United Province of Canada	Template:Coord
				(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.<ref name=Laval/> The existence of regular ferry services across the river is attested from 1813,<ref name=Bizard>Template:Cite book </ref> 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.<ref name=Laval/>) 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.<ref name=Laval/>

Span	Picture	First span built	Current span built	Communities linked	Carries	Name origin	Coordinates
Le Gardeur Bridge		— {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	1939 (widened 1975)<ref name=Charlemagne>Template:Cite book </ref>	(M) Borough of Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles	Route 138 and Route Verte 5	Pierre Le Gardeur de Repentigny (1605–1648), French lord<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }} </ref>	Template:Coord
				(I) Île Bourdon
				(O) Repentigny
Laurier Railway Bridge<ref name=Charlemagne/>		— {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	1904<ref name=Charlemagne/>	(M) Borough of Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles	Template:Ubl	Wilfrid Laurier (1841–1919), Prime Minister of Canada	Template:Coord
				(I) Île Bourdon
				(O) Charlemagne
Charles de Gaulle Bridge	A wide box girder bridge.	— {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	1965<ref>Template:Cite book </ref>	(M) Borough of Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles	File:Quebec Autoroute 40.svg Autoroute 40	Charles de Gaulle (1890–1970), President of France	Template:Coord
				(O) Charlemagne
Olivier-Charbonneau Bridge	Olivier-Charbonneau Bridge.	— {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	2011 Template:Ref label	(M) Borough of Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles	Autoroute 25	Olivier Charbonneau (c.1613-1687), first European settler of Île Jésus.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }} </ref>	Template:Coord
				(O) Laval (Saint-François)
Pie IX Bridge	A box girder bridge high above the river.	1937<ref name=Laval/>	1967<ref name=Laval/>	(M) Borough of Montreal North	File:Qc125.svg Route 125	Pope Pius IX (1792–1878)	Template:Coord
				(O) Laval (Saint-Vincent-de-Paul)
Centrale de la Rivière des Prairies	A small hydroelectric power station.	— {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	1930<ref>Template:Cite book </ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }} [Hydro-Québec]</ref>Template:Ref label	(M) Borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville	Hydro-Québec	Rivière des Prairies	Template:Coord
				(I) Île de la Visitation and Île du Cheval de Terre
				(O) Laval (Duvernay)
Papineau-Leblanc Bridge	Papineau-Leblanc Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge.	— {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	1969<ref name=Papineau>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }} </ref>	(M) Borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville	File:Quebec Autoroute 19.svg Autoroute 19	Louis-Joseph Papineau (1786–1871), leader of the Patriote movement Alpha Leblanc (1908–1962), local landowner<ref name=Papineau/>	Template:Coord
				(I) Île de la Visitation
				(O) Laval (Duvernay)
Viau Bridge (Ahuntsic Bridge)	A concrete arch bridge.	1847	1962 (widened 1993)<ref name=Laval/>	(M) Borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville	File:Qc335.svg Route 335	Ahuntsic, Huron boy who drowned in 1625<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }} </ref> The origin of the name Viau is uncertain.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }} </ref>	Template:Coord
				(O) Laval (Pont-Viau)
Montreal Metro Tunnel	The interior of the Henri-Bourassa Station.	— {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	2007<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }} </ref>	(M) Borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville (Henri-Bourassa station)	Template:Ric Template:Ric Line 2 Orange	— {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Template:Coord
				(O) Laval (Cartier station)
Bordeaux Railway Bridge	A typical railway truss bridge.	— {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	1876<ref name=Laval/>	(M) Borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville	Template:Ubl	Bordeaux, former town	Template:Coord
				(I) Île Perry<ref>Île Perry</ref>
				(O) Laval (Laval-des-Rapides)
Médéric Martin Bridge	A wide box girder structure on massive concrete pillars.	— {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	1958 (widened 1991)<ref>Template:Cite book </ref>	(M) Borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville	Autoroute 15/Trans-Canada Highway	Médéric Martin (1869–1946), Mayor of Montreal	Template:Coord
				(O) Laval (Laval-des-Rapides)
Lachapelle Bridge (Cartierville Bridge)	Two non-identical steel frame bridges side by side.	1848<ref name=Laval/>	1930, 1975<ref name=Laval/>	(M) Borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville	File:Qc117.svg Route 117	Pascal Persillier-Lachapelle, builder of the first bridge<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }} </ref>	Template:Coord
				(O) Laval (Chomedey)
Louis Bisson Bridge	A box girder freeway bridge on thin pillars.	— {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	1975<ref>Template:Cite book </ref>	(M) Borough of Pierrefonds-Roxboro	File:Quebec Autoroute 13.svg Autoroute 13	Louis Bisson (1909–1997), Canadian aviator	Template:Coord
				(O) Laval (Chomedey / Sainte-Dorothée)
Île Bigras railway crossing	A typical steel truss railway bridge.	— {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	1916<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Ref label	(M) Borough of Pierrefonds-Roxboro	CN Formerly used by the Deux-Montagnes commuter train (currently being replaced by the Réseau express métropolitain)	(no official name)	Template:Coord
				(I) (Île Bigras) Île-Bigras commuter train station
				(O) Laval (Sainte-Dorothée)
Guy Lafleur Bridge	Jacques-Bizard Bridge seen between trees.	1966	2024<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	(M) Sainte-Geneviève, Montreal, borough of L'Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève	Boulevard Jacques Bizard	Guy Lafleur (1951–2022), ice hockey player and local resident	Template:Coord
				(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.<ref name="CN Sainte-Anne"/> 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.<ref name=SAB>Template:Cite book </ref> 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.<ref name=SAB/>

All three spans across the Ottawa River East Channel are twinned by another span, built simultaneously, across the West Channel.

Span	Picture	First span built	Current span built	Communities linked	Carries	Name origin	Coordinates
Île aux Tourtes Bridge	A long box girder bridge seen from several kilometers (miles) away.	— {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	1966<ref name=SAB/>Template:Ref label	(M) Senneville	File:Quebec Autoroute 40.svg Autoroute 40/Trans-Canada Highway	Île aux Tourtes (literally, Wild Pigeon island)<ref>Fiche descriptive</ref>	Template:Coord (Across Lake of Two Mountains)
				(I) Île Girwood, Île aux Tourtes
				(O) Vaudreuil-Dorion
Canadian Pacific Rail Bridge	A steel truss bridge with a locomotive on it.	— {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	1893<ref>Template:Cite book </ref>	(M) Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue	Template:Ubl	(no official names)	Template:Coord (Across Canal Sainte-Anne)
				(I) Île Bellevue
				(O) Île Perrot
Canadian National Rail Bridge	An old railway bridge on stone pillars.	— {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	1854<ref name="CN Sainte-Anne"/>	(M) Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue	Template:Ubl		Template:Coord (Across Canal Sainte-Anne)
				(I) Île Bellevue
				(O) Île Perrot
Galipeault Bridge	Two non-identical box girder bridges over rapids.	1925<ref name=SAB/>	1991, 2009<ref>Template:Cite news </ref>Template:Ref label	(M) Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue	Autoroute 20 and Route Verte 5	Antonin Galipeault (1879–1971), Quebec politician	Template:Coord (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

Template:Note labelThe 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.<ref name=Mercier/>

Template:Note labelThe Champlain Bridge Ice Structure, known in French as "l'Estacade Champlain," was built to control ice floes coming from the Laprairie Basin.<ref name=ChamplainIce/>

Template:Note labelAt 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.<ref name=Champlain/>

Template:Note labelVictoria 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.<ref name=Victoria/>

Template:Note labelPont de la Concorde (Concorde Bridge) and Pont des Îles ("Bridge of the Islands") were built for Expo 67.<ref name=Concorde/> 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.

Template:Note labelJacques-Cartier Bridge was originally named Harbour Bridge/Pont du Havre, and renamed after Jacques Cartier in 1934 (400th anniversary of Cartier's first voyage). The section over the St. Lawrence Seaway was lifted to a new height in 1962.<ref name=JC/>

Template:Note labelThe Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine complex consists of a tunnel from Montreal to Île Charron and a bridge from Île Charron to the South Shore.<ref name=Lafontaine/>

Template:Note labelConstruction of the Highway 25 Bridge started in early 2008 and was finished in May 2011. It is a toll bridge.

Template:Note labelThe Rivière des Prairies hydro complex is a set of three dams: one from Montreal I. to Île de la Visitation (west of the Papineau-Leblanc Bridge), which includes a footpath; another between Île de la Visitation and Île du Cheval de Terre; and the longest span between Île du Cheval-de-Terre and Île Jésus. Île de la Visitation is joined to Montreal by another two small bridges: a road bridge, which also serves as a dam (historically, a water mill) and a footbridge.

Template:Note labelThe railway crossing at Île Bigras consists of two spans, one north and one south of Île Bigras.

Template:Note labelA structure known as "Île Bray Bridge" was abandoned while still under construction in favor of Île aux Tourtes Bridge.<ref name=SAB/>

Template:Note labelGalipeault Bridge was first built in 1925 and doubled in 1964. Both spans have been replaced since. Taschereau Bridge, which was part of the same project, spans the West Channel along the same highway.<ref name=SAB/>