Residents of the Montreal region lined up on Sunday for the chance to own a small piece of the old Champlain Bridge, which connected the metropolis to Longueuil for nearly 60 years.
From 9:30 a.m., in the rain, pedestrians and motorists alike waited to collect one of the several thousand rivets from the bridge which are offered as souvenirs, on Nuns’ Island.
The “old” Champlain Bridge was decommissioned in 2019, when it was replaced by a new $4.4 billion infrastructure, which today connects Montreal to Brossard.
PHOTO GRAHAM HUGHES, THE CANADIAN PRESS
From 9:30 a.m., in the rain, pedestrians and motorists alike waited to collect one of the several thousand rivets from the bridge which are offered as souvenirs, on Nuns’ Island.
A spokeswoman for the federal Crown corporation that manages the old bridge said the structure has played a major role in the economic development of Montreal and its suburbs, even if it has been plagued by problems over the years. its last years of useful life.
Nathalie Lessard says the rivets, which look like large nails, are important because they help hold different parts of the bridge together, and they are not used in modern construction.
The rivets come with a warning that they may contain traces of lead paint, which has been mitigated by a protective layer of varnish.