Ontario Construction News staff writer
CONTRECOEUR, Que. – Construction has entered a major new phase on the $2.3-billion Port of Montreal Contrecoeur Expansion Project, with in-water work now underway on the future container terminal.
The Montreal Port Authority announced Aug. 14 that construction of a working jetty has begun, marking the completion of preparatory work that has been underway since fall 2025.
The new phase includes construction of the working jetty, terminal wharf and associated marine infrastructure. Dredging is scheduled to begin in 2027.
The project is being delivered by the Constructeurs Terminal de Contrecoeur Grand Projet (CTCGP) consortium, composed of Aecon and Pomerleau.
More than 250,000 tonnes of stone from local quarries have been delivered to the site over the past several months to build the jetty in the St. Lawrence River and provide fill for the future wharf. Several thousand additional tonnes are expected to be delivered in the coming months.
The working jetty will give crews and heavy equipment access to the work zone, including a crane with a lifting capacity of 300 tonnes.
Construction recently reached another major milestone with the delivery of 415 steel sheet piles that will form a key component of the future wharf.
Each sheet pile is 23 metres long, 1.6 metres wide and weighs about five tonnes. The piles were manufactured from 95 per cent recycled steel at an ArcelorMittal plant in Luxembourg. They travelled from the Port of Antwerp to Quebec before being unloaded by Logistec and transported by truck to the Contrecoeur construction site.
The operation required 95 truck deliveries and specialized handling equipment because of the size and weight of the materials.
Sheet piles will be driven deep into the ground and combined with steel casing piles to form a continuous steel wall that will serve as the face of the wharf. A second row of sheet piles will form an anchor wall behind the main structure, providing additional strength and stability.Steel casing piles currently being manufactured in Saint-Félix-de-Kingsey are scheduled to begin arriving at the site Aug. 17.
Wharf construction is expected to begin this fall with installation of the combined wall of steel casing piles and sheet piles.
“The start of in-water construction confirms that the expansion project is progressing according to plan,” said Paul Bird, president and CEO of the Montreal Port Authority. “After several months of preparation and mobilization on site, we are reaching a major milestone in the construction of the future terminal,” Bird said.
In-water work follows months of site preparation, including installation of construction fencing, development of access roads, construction of work platforms, targeted tree clearing and installation of site offices and garages.
Dredging of the riverbed is scheduled to begin in 2027, while completion of the wharf is targeted for June 2029.
The Contrecoeur expansion is one of the federal government’s major nation-building projects and the first to be fast-tracked under the initiative to reach the construction stage.
The port authority has also implemented environmental monitoring measures covering air and water quality and noise during construction. Silt curtains have been installed to contain suspended sediment and other material disturbed during in-water work.
The authority has committed $36 million to environmental compensation measures addressing impacts on wetlands and habitat, including habitat for the copper redhorse.
The Contrecoeur expansion is intended to increase container capacity at the Port of Montreal and strengthen Canada’s supply chain infrastructure and access to international markets.