Repair work underway to fix gaping hole on re-opened Châteauguay bridge
Posted March 5, 2026 11:25 am.
Last Updated March 5, 2026 4:22 pm.
Work was underway Thursday morning to repair a gaping hole on a bridge in Châteauguay, south of Montreal.
The large hole formed Wednesday in the middle of a lane of traffic on the Sauvagine Bridge, which crosses the Châteauguay River, after a small section of the deck collapsed.
Initially fully closed to traffic, the eastbound side of the bridge has since reopened to cars going in both directions after Quebec’s Transport Ministry determined it was safe to do so.
“The Ministry is aware that the bridge has structural deficiencies, but it remains safe,” Martin Girard, a spokesperson for the ministry, told CityNews via email. “This was confirmed to the City of Châteauguay, which then implemented a contraflow traffic pattern, with one lane open in each direction, on the eastbound section of the bridge.
“The Ministry’s objective is to reopen the structure safely as quickly as possible.”
Girard says a second surface inspection will be conducted once workers fix the hole, at which point “the Ministry will then have a better idea of when the westbound lanes can be reopened.”
The decision to reopen the eastbound side of the bridge — while repairs on the westbound side were still underway — was questioned by Châteauguay Mayor Éric Allard.
“The MTMD (Ministère des transports et de la Mobilité durable) considers the bridge safe enough to open one side for two‑way traffic,” Allard wrote on Facebook. “I am speechless and don’t understand this decision, even though an MTMD engineer has stated that it is safe. I certainly won’t be using it.
“Given the level of rust on the metal rods, it’s difficult to believe the problem is limited to a single area — it appears to be widespread, although that assessment is based on my non‑engineer’s opinion.”
According to Allard, the provincial government was supposed to demolish and rebuild the bridge last year, but he says the project was postponed until 2030. He adds the MTMD inspected the bridge in August 2024.
Allard says he hopes the hole in the bridge “will accelerate the steps already underway” to rebuild the structure “as quickly as possible.”
