Bidders for the public-private partnership to build the 3km-long new bridge for the St Lawrence corridor will have to comply with the design, which is the result of a collaborative process, led by Arup as the project’s engineering consultant. An architectural review panel of architect Poul Ove Jensen from Dissing+Weitling, local firm Provencher Roy, the City of Montréal, Mission Design, Heritage Montréal, the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec and the Ordre des architectes du Québec developed the design in collaboration with Arup. Groupe SM has also worked on the highway components.
There has been a strong response to the project's request for qualifications (RFQ), with six consortia responding. The three highest-scoring qualified respondents will be invited to participate in the request for proposals (RFP), which will be launched shortly.
The Arup team has also contributed to a new procurement approach as this will be the first time that a Canadian public private-partnership procurement will include a definition design to ensure that the architectural vision is realised in the finished structure. Qualified proponents invited to participate in the project's RFP stage will have to comply with the design that has been published, though the approach also incorporates freedom for innovation in the design, construction and operation of the new bridge.
