Up to $300 million will be spent to build a new span alongside the existing Mercier Bridg, to eventually replace a portion of it.
Provincial cabinet ministers Pierre Moreau and Geoff Kelley made the annoucnement on Sunday saying the plan is to improve the commute between the island and the South Shore.
The new span will feature two southbound lanes and a multi purpose track.
The start and the end of contruction are not yet clear. According to Moreau, it will cost $100 million to maintain the current southbound portion until the new span is ready to replace it.
“For 82 years, the Mercier Bridge helped our economic development, connected friends and family and allowed us to work and play,” said Moreau in a statement.
He added “it’s part of our history and heritage. Now, it no longer meets the modern standards of multifunctional road traffic.”
The federal-run portion, which was rebuilt last year, has a bike path and Moreau said the bike path will be continued on the new provincial section.
"Any bikers will be able to go from one shore to the other," he said.
Kahnawake Grand Chief Joseph Tokwiro Norton said he welcomes the announcement but expressed a concern at a lack of consultation with the Mohawk tribe in Kahnwake, on whose land the entrance and exit to the Mercier rest.
-With files from CTV News