Federal government reviving Kettle Island bridge idea with 'commitment' to new interprovincial crossing

A person makes their way past the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

The federal government's fall economic statement says the government is announcing its commitment to building a new bridge over the Ottawa River to connect Ottawa and Gatineau, reviving a controversial proposal that faced major public backlash more than 10 years ago.

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"This commitment for the project known as the 'Eastern Bridge' enables the next phase of planning, including the impact assessment, design, preliminary site preparation, and a procurement strategy," the document says.

The proposed bridge would cross Kettle Island in the Ottawa River to connect the Aviation Parkway in Ottawa to Montée Paiement in Gatineau.

A 2013 National Capital Commission (NCC) study into ideal corridors for the proposed crossing looked at Kettle Island, Lower Duck Island, and McLaurin Bay as options. The Kettle Island option, also known as "Corridor 5", was the technically preferred option.

The report was shelved for six years following public backlash and the Ontario government refusing to back the plan. In 2019, the federal government asked the NCC to refresh existing studies and develop a long-term integrated interprovincial crossing plan.

In June 2024, the federal government authorized further studies on the Aviation Parkway to Montée Paiement corridor, saying it would provide alternative transportation routes that would address peak travel times and reduce truck traffic downtown.

A 2021 report, however, suggested that a sixth bridge would not have a major impact on truck traffic downtown, amounting to diversion of approximately 15 per cent by 2050 if an east-end bridge were built.

An NCC report into truck traffic, released earlier this year, said approximately 3,500 trucks cross the Ottawa River in the National Capital Region on a typical weekday, with 72 per cent of those trucks using the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge.

The truck corridor through downtown Ottawa requires transport trucks to travel along Nicholas Street, Waller Street, Rideau Street and King Edward Avenue to connect with highways in Quebec. The NCC traffic report says the King Edward-Rideau-Waller-Nicholas corridor accommodates two to four times more trucks than other major arterial truck routes in the region.

For years, downtown residents have called for a solution to the multitude of large trucks that travel through Sandy Hill and Lowertown to reach Quebec, citing concerns about pollution, health, and the potential for dangerous collisions.

Very few details are provided in the fall economic statement about this proposed Eastern Bridge, with no dollar amount attached to the so-called commitment, nor any timeline.

If built, it would be the first new interprovincial bridge constructed in the region since the Portage Bridge was completed in 1973. Several of the five current crossings are expected to reach capacity by 2031. In addition, the more than 120-year-old Alexandra Bridge is due to be replaced, with the deconstruction of the existing bridge and the construction of the new one set for between 2028 and 2032. 

The fall economic statement was delivered the same day Chrystia Freeland abruptly resigned from the Liberal cabinet, casting doubt and confusion on the future of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government.