Montreal’s Jacques-Cartier Bridge: Reflecting the Energy and Pulse of the City

June 1, 2017

An iconic structure in the Greater Montreal landscape, the Jacques-Cartier Bridge has been used by Canadians to cross the Saint Lawrence River for over 87 years. The five-lane steel bridge serves as a gateway between the city of Montreal and its southern suburbs, and with 98,000 vehicles traversing it every day it is the third busiest bridge in Canada. The bridge spans over 3,350 m (11,000 ft) and is best known for the eight finials, or architectural ornaments, that sit atop its four main columns and resemble the Eiffel Tower.

Already an unmistakable landmark viewed by thousands during the daytime, the bridge now illuminates the night sky with a Philips LED lighting system. The bridge was lit for the first time in its history as part of the Living Connections project to help commemorate both the 375th anniversary of Montreal and 150th anniversary of Canada.

A true collaborative showcase of both Montreal’s artistic vision and engineering talent, the Living Connections project was realized thanks to the 200+ people of varying professions ranging from creatives and lighting designers to steel workers and traffic officers who worked on the project. The multimedia entertainment studio Moment Factory served as the project’s creative lead with help from six local Montreal design studios, while Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated (JCCBI), engineering consortium WSP-AECOM, and construction company Pomerleau handled the structural side.

The idea behind the project is for the Jacques-Cartier Bridge to reflect the energy and pulse of the city in real time through the use of over 2,800 intelligent LED lights attached to the steel truss structure. Philips supplied the interactive lighting for the “digital skin” of the bridge with 2,400 iColor Accent Powercore fixtures. Each evening, as the sun begins to set on Quebec’s metropolis, the lights awaken and bring the bridge to life with vibrant colours and animations. Throughout the night the lights on the exterior of the bridge respond to Montreal’s energy by creating patterns using colours, intensity and motion based on the frequency ‘Montreal’ is shared on social media. In effect, these patterns mirror the heartbeat of the city and make it the first People Connected Bridge.

“When working on the historic city of Montreal’s most visible architectural icon, our client and team of designers set demanding environmental, aesthetic and connectivity performance criteria,” says Gabriel Pontbriand, Moment Factory Senior Creative Director and Lighting Designer. “Philips Color Kinetics LED Lighting system was a top choice for us to illuminate the dynamic exterior digital ‘skin’ component of the bridge due to its weather and vibration resistance and long life span. Its excellent resolution and dimming attributes were key for the designer team to tell the living story of our city, our seasons and our people.”

After the creative vision was decided upon, WSP-AECOM began work in the fall of 2015 to conduct biological, physical, and human impact assessments to ensure that the lighting system would fit harmoniously within the existing natural and urban environments. The lighting system was installed by Pomerleau the following fall and was completed in the spring of 2017.

The bridge opened with great fanfare on May 17, 2017 with a special inaugural celebration including an inspiring symphonic arrangement played by Montreal’s renowned Orchestre Métropolitain accompanied by a dynamic light show, which showcased the unprecedented programming features of the lighting system.

Project statistics

• Economy — 25,000 hours of local creative designers’ time
• Experience — 1800 unique lighting shows per year
• Use — 98,000 motorists per day travel the bridge
• Social Media — >10M impressions expected3
• Connectivity — 95,000 addressable pixels

Who was involved

• Client: Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated (JCCBI
• Lighting design:
  • Moment Factory
  • Ambiances Design Productions
  • ATOMIC3
  • Éclairage Public / Ombrages Lucion Média
  • Réalisations UDO Design
• General contractor: Pomerleau
• Electrical Contractor: Systémes Urbains
• Engineer: Consortium WSP–Aecom
• Electrical distributor: Lumen, a division Sonepar Canada