The consortium building a new Montreal bridge is playing down concerns about 2,000 defects that reportedly have been found in parts manufactured by a Spanish company.
A spokesman says all the problems are being ironed out and the $4.2-billion bridge will be delivered on time in about one year.
The new structure, which spans the St. Lawrence River, is being built by the federal government to replace the crumbling Champlain Bridge.
A report in Le Journal de Montreal today lists a number of defects: porous steel plates; incomplete or non-existent soldering; defective bolts; as well as several holes poorly aligned in parts that have to be bolted together.
The consortium’s website says a project the size of the new bridge will inevitably encounter technical challenges.
But it adds that when an irregularity is raised, the only focus is to correct the situation so the permanent works conform to standards.
The new bridge is built by the “Signature on the Saint Lawrence” group, a consortium led by engineering and construction firm SNC-Lavalin.