More than 200 lights have been installed on Montreal’s Jacques-Cartier Bridge since works began more than two weeks ago, but the project is far from complete.
A total of 2,807 lights are planned to be put in place on the bridge in time for Montreal’s 375th anniversary next year.
A spokesperson for Pomerleau, the project’s contractor, explained it’s unlike anything the company has worked on in the past.
“We’re really proud, it’s really amazing, it’s very different from other projects,” Carolyne Van Der Meer, director of communications at Pomerleau, told Global News.
The job is certainly not for the faint of heart: workers have to scale the bridge’s piers supported by cables a few hundred feet above the river.
READ MORE: Jacques-Cartier Bridge lights up for Montreal’s anniversary
Almost one hundred men and women are working different shifts around the clock to install the lights in time to celebrate the city’s anniversary.
In total, about 10,000 different parts have to be assembled, attached to the bridge and then used to hold up thousands of lights.
The crews have until May 2017 to get the job done.
One of the biggest challenges: dealing with Mother Nature as cold temperatures, snow and the wind engulf the city.
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“When the wind is over 40 km/h, we’re not able to work in scaffolding,” said project manager Antoine Audoynaud.
The project is expected to cost almost $40 million, with the federal government giving $30 million and the rest coming from the city.
The cost of lighting the bridge has been heavily criticized in recent months, but people working for the Jacques-Cartier and Champlain Bridge Corporation are defending the price tag.
“It’s a good investment, in terms of landmark. It’s for the tourists,” said project coordinator Raphael Lavoie.
The unveiling is scheduled for May 17, 2017.
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