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[Duke87]

I don't think I've even heard of a metro area having two, non-interoperable transponders anywhere else.

Miami comes to mind - Rickenbacker Causeway does not take SunPass (which all the other toll roads in the area do), but they do have their own "C-Pass".

[webfil]

I don't think I've even heard of a metro area having two, non-interoperable transponders anywhere else.

Miami comes to mind - Rickenbacker Causeway does not take SunPass (which all the other toll roads in the area do), but they do have their own "C-Pass".

C-Pass is not accepted anymore; Sun Pass is.
https://www.miamidade.gov/parks/rickenbacker.asp
https://www.sunpass.com/en/tolls/tollsSunPass.shtml

EDIT : This just shows non-interoperability is not a sealed fate. It just takes some political will and a reasonable motive (whether engineeral or economical).

[Joe The Dragon]

I don't think I've even heard of a metro area having two, non-interoperable transponders anywhere else.

Miami comes to mind - Rickenbacker Causeway does not take SunPass (which all the other toll roads in the area do), but they do have their own "C-Pass".

C-Pass is not accepted anymore; Sun Pass is.
https://www.miamidade.gov/parks/rickenbacker.asp
https://www.sunpass.com/en/tolls/tollsSunPass.shtml

EDIT : This just shows non-interoperability is not a sealed fate. It just takes some political will and a reasonable motive (whether engineeral or economical).

we need an senator or congressman to get hit with the insane rent a car toll fees to force change.

[Richard3]

I don't think I've even heard of a metro area having two, non-interoperable transponders anywhere else.

Miami comes to mind - Rickenbacker Causeway does not take SunPass (which all the other toll roads in the area do), but they do have their own "C-Pass".

C-Pass is not accepted anymore; Sun Pass is.
https://www.miamidade.gov/parks/rickenbacker.asp
https://www.sunpass.com/en/tolls/tollsSunPass.shtml

EDIT : This just shows non-interoperability is not a sealed fate. It just takes some political will and a reasonable motive (whether engineeral or economical).

...and in Quebec, for sure, a politician having some political will and a reasonable motive at the same time will definitely be accused of corruption.

[Stephane Dumas]

On a off-topic sidenote, here an overview of the new Champlain bridge filmed last May.

[MikeTheActuary]

So, I drove up to Montréal today for my June work trip.

From what I could see, it looks most of the signage is up on the new bridge, but they were working on installing the safety barriers at the apex of the new bridge, where it crosses over the seaway.

I couldn't tell for certain from my vantage point, going into the city while trying not to be smushed by a semi that just didn't want to stay in his lane, but I wouldn't be surprised if there is still some work to be done to configure temporary, much less permanent, ramps for the interchange on the south side of the bridge.  On the Montréal side of the bridge...I can make an educated guess on how they will be reconfiguring exits, based on some currently-covered signs, and some currently-visible signs on closed roadways.

Has a new opening date been announced?   I'm guessing that this evening's crossing might have been the last time I'll get to drive the old bridge northbound.  I'm looking forward to not repeating the experience. 

[MikeTheActuary]

https://www.985fm.ca/nouvelles/politique/226850/primeur-le-pont-samuel-de-champlain-ouvrira-un-premier-troncon-le-24-juin

New bridge opens northbound the morning of 24 June, and southbound on 1 July.  Opening ceremony is 28 June.

[froggie]

Anyone up for a quick Montreal trip on the weekend in between?

[1995hoo]

The bridge opened (one way only so far) as advertised today, per the evening news on local TV here in Toronto tonight. They didn’t have any interesting pictures, though.

[KEVIN_224]

https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/drivers-line-up-to-be-the-first-across-new-champlain-bridge

I saw this link at least. The outbound direction FROM Montreal will open on Monday, July 1st (Canada Day).

[ixnay]

https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/drivers-line-up-to-be-the-first-across-new-champlain-bridge

I saw this link at least. The outbound direction FROM Montreal will open on Monday, July 1st (Canada Day).

Like the new Tappan Zee Bridge(es) (and IIRC the Zakim Bridge as well), they're opening *just* one direction at a time for no good reason that I can see.  What prevented both directions from being opened at once?

ixnay

[AsphaltPlanet]

^ Construction staging.  The old northbound lanes need to be removed before the new southbound lanes can be tied in to the new bridge.

[MikeTheActuary]

^ Construction staging.  The old northbound lanes need to be removed before the new southbound lanes can be tied in to the new bridge.

...and ramps to/from the southbound lanes.

https://goo.gl/maps/qEhk8GadTzmu5YdB7

As of this writing, the imagery is dated, but you can see the where the new bridge is located "east" of the old bridge.  The northbound lanes, as of a couple of weeks ago, were pretty much in-line with the new bridge, to the extent that someone (a roadgeek perhaps) driving northbound might have been tempted to drive onto the new bridge had they not been paying attention to the barriers and the roadway shift to the old bridge.

The path from the southbound span to the southbound roadway on both sides of the bridge crosses the old northbound roadways.  The new ramp for traffic for southbound 15 likewise crosses the old roadway.  The extra week gives crews a chance to almost finish the connections without additional northbound closures.

[MikeTheActuary]

I just came across two bits of video that might be of interest here:

This MTLBlog article has an embedded video shot by someone crossing the new bridge around sunset yesterday.  The quality's not great, but...

And somehow I missed this post on Reddit where someone shared what I hope is just a test of the decorative LED lights on the new bridge.


EDIT:  MUCH better video of crossing the new bridge:

[Richard3]

https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/drivers-line-up-to-be-the-first-across-new-champlain-bridge

I saw this link at least. The outbound direction FROM Montreal will open on Monday, July 1st (Canada Day).

Like the new Tappan Zee Bridge(es) (and IIRC the Zakim Bridge as well), they're opening *just* one direction at a time for no good reason that I can see.  What prevented both directions from being opened at once?

ixnay

In that case, the new Samuel-de-Champlain Bridge replaces the actual Champlain Bridge, that is still open, so the workers took the June 21-to-24 long week-end (June 24th is a day off in province of Quebec) to demolish approaches of the former bridge, and connect the new bridge to the actual highway on northbound side.  From tonight, and for the next long week-end (June 28-to-July 1st, this day being Canada Day), they will do the same operation on southbound side.  All of this in order to avoid stopping the traffic for too much time; the total closing time for both operations will be a bit  less than three days (Friday at night to Monday in the morning). In the Greater Montreal Area, the traffic situation is as deficient that just closing a bridge for one week would be catastrophic.

When building a brand-new highway from scratch, both sides of the bridge opens at the same time, as of the opening of the Olivier-Charbonneau Bridge, on a brand-new strecth of Autoroute 25, between Montreal and Laval, on May 21st, 2011.

[froggie]

Here's a few quick photos I took of the inbound/northbound side this morning.  FreewayJim is a public group so you shouldn't need a Facebook account to view it.  I also took video of both directions that I hope to post by tomorrow.

[MikeTheActuary]

Bilingual signage?  That's a sure sign of Ottawa's involvement!

[webfil]

Bilingual signage?  That's a sure sign of Ottawa's involvement!

PJCCI, a federal crown corporation, owns Champlain and Jacques-Cartier bridges, as well as Meocheville tunnel, Bonaventure Autoroute, A-15 south of La Vérendrye exit and the part of Mercier bridge over the seaway, explaining the off-par signage. PJCCI uses bilingual signage by default, in accordance with section 23 (1) of the Official Languages Act. Mercier has french-only signage even on the federal part, though ― I couldn't explain.

In Québec, the other provincial highway with bilingual signage that I know of (some municipalities do enjoy a bilingual status) outside federal parks and away from borders is Victoria bridge, owned by the CN Railway. Signage is not only off-par; it's subpar. That place is a sign hellhole.

[Richard3]

https://www.google.ca/maps/@45.3720899,-73.7078161,3a,75y,80.17h,106.91t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sJGp-jN9TXfTbpDk3M--CkA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=fr

On this link, from Google Street View, we can see a sign, written in Mohawk language, for the bus-reserved lane on shoulder. That reserved lane was built when QC-132/QC-138, between Chateauguay limits and Blind Lady's Hill Road, in Kahnawake, was redone by the MTQ about 10-15 years ago.  On the distance, signs alternate from Mohawk language to French language, with not a single sign in English. But the most spoken languages in Kahnawake are Mohawk and English. And not necessarily in that order!

How can we explain that?

[cbeach40]

https://www.google.ca/maps/@45.3720899,-73.7078161,3a,75y,80.17h,106.91t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sJGp-jN9TXfTbpDk3M--CkA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=fr

On this link, from Google Street View, we can see a sign, written in Mohawk language, for the bus-reserved lane on shoulder. That reserved lane was built when QC-132/QC-138, between Chateauguay limits and Blind Lady's Hill Road, in Kahnawake, was redone by the MTQ about 10-15 years ago.  On the distance, signs alternate from Mohawk language to French language, with not a single sign in English. But the most spoken languages in Kahnawake are Mohawk and English. And not necessarily in that order!

How can we explain that?

Québec politics for the last 60+ years.

[MikeTheActuary]

The pedestrian/bike path on the new bridge opened over the holidays.

YouTube video of a partial crossing: