MONTREAL — Many motorists travelling to and from Montreal and the south shore would use other bridges to cross the St. Lawrence river and seaway if tolls were introduced on the new Champlain Bridge, according to the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO).
But the PBO’s report concludes the traffic diversion would strongly depend on the toll amount.
Watch: Impact of Champlain Bridge tolls: study
For instance, a toll of $1.40 each way would divert only 2.3 per cent of all vehicle traffic to other bridges or via the Louis H. Lafontaine Tunnel.
The scale of traffic diversion quickly rises in relation to increases in toll amounts.
A $2.60 toll would divert 3.4 per cent of the traffic.
$3.90 toll would divert 10.6 per cent of traffic.
And a toll of $9.10 would divert 37.9 per cent of traffic.
The report primarily focuses on the $2.60 to $3.90 range, as those amounts would generate enough revenues to cover the construction costs of the new bridge as well as operation and maintenance fees.
READ MORE: Impact of Montreal’s Champlain Bridge tolls: study
The Federal government projects the new bridge will cost between $3 to $5 billion.
The PBO produced the report following a request by MP Hoang Mai, (NDP, Brossard-La Prairie) to determine the potential revenues new tolls would generate.
The Federal government, which announced a new bridge would be built to replace the existing Champlain Bridge in 2011, has long insisted any new bridge most have a toll to help cover the costs.
The Conservative Party said the Champlain is the only bridge under federal jurisdiction that doesn’t cross provincial or international borders, which is partly why the party demands tolls be included on a future bridge.
However, Quebec’s Liberal government and the mayor of Montreal, Denis Coderre, have long expressed their objections to tolls out of fear that it would create massive congestion on the other bridges, specifically, the Jacques-Cartier, Victoria and Honoré-Mercier.
The Champlain Bridge was built and opened to traffic in 1962 but has deteriorated in recent years, largely due to the introduction of road salt used to melt ice and snow.
More than 160,000 vehicles cross the bridge every weekday, and more than $20 billion worth of trade cross the bridge annually.
The new bridge, which is a public-private-partnership, is scheduled to open by 2018.
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