Champlain Bridge to be replaced by 2018

The Harper government is promising to build a replacement for Montreal's Champlain Bridge by 2018, three years earlier than originally planned.

Infrastructure Minister Denis Lebel said the procurement process for the new $5-billion toll bridge, built through a public-private partnership, will begin next spring.

"I can assure you we will not cut corners," Lebel said at a Montreal news conference recently.

"The new bridge will be safe and be built to last 100 years."

Lebel made the announcement as emergency repairs wrapped up on the current bridge, a key artery linking...