The Pierre Laporte Bridge (french: Pont Pierre-Laporte) is the longest main span
suspension bridge in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
.
[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.] It crosses the
Saint Lawrence River
The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connectin ...
approximately west (upstream) of the
Quebec Bridge
The Quebec Bridge (french: pont de Québec) is a road, rail, and pedestrian bridge across the lower Saint Lawrence River between Sainte-Foy (a former suburb that in 2002 became a western area of Quebec City) and Lévis, in Quebec, Canada. The p ...
between
Quebec City
Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...
and
Lévis,
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
. It is the longest non-tolled suspension bridge in the world at .
It was originally named the New Quebec Bridge (''Nouveau pont de Québec'') and was supposed to be called Pont
Frontenac (Frontenac Bridge) until it was renamed in honour of
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
Vice-
Premier Pierre Laporte
Pierre Laporte (25 February 1921 – 17 October 1970) was a Canadian lawyer, journalist and politician. He was deputy premier of the province of Quebec when he was kidnapped and murdered by members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ ...
, who was kidnapped and murdered during the
October Crisis
The October Crisis (french: Crise d'Octobre) refers to a chain of events that started in October 1970 when members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped the provincial Labour Minister Pierre Laporte and British diplomat James Cr ...
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
The Trans-Canada Highway (French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean on ...
, to Quebec City and
Autoroute 40, and northwards towards
Saguenay.
Image:Quebec and Pierre-Laporte Bridges.jpg, Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
and Pierre-Laporte Bridges in winter.
Image:pont_pierre-laporte_full.jpg, Pierre-Laporte Bridge (May 2015).
Image:pont_pierre_laporte_under.jpg, View from under the north side of the bridge.
__NOTOC__
Specifications
*Constructed: 1966-1970
*Main span:
*Side spans: each
*Total length: between anchorages
*Deck: Six-lane
freeway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...
bridge
*Capacity: 90,000 vehicles per day
See also
*
List of crossings of the Saint Lawrence River
This is a list of bridges, ferries, and other crossings of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Saint Lawrence River, and Great Lakes, by order of south shore terminal running from the Gulf of Saint Lawrence upstream to Lake Superior.
Crossings
Quebec
Lo ...
*
List of bridges in Canada
This is a list of bridges and viaducts in Canada, including those for pedestrians and vehicular traffic.
Historical and architectural interest bridges
There are only a few covered bridges left in Canada compared to all those that were built in t ...
References
External links
*
Pierre Laporte Bridge (A-73) on Steve Anderson's MontrealRoads.comGoogle 3D warehouse
{{Authority control
Laporte
Bridges over the Saint Lawrence River
Suspension bridges in Canada
Transport in Lévis, Quebec
Buildings and structures in Lévis, Quebec
Road bridges in Quebec
Bridges completed in 1970
1970 establishments in Quebec