A new $300 million bridge will be built alongside the existing Mercier Bridge as part of an effort to make traffic between the island of Montreal and the South Shore more efficient.

The new structure was announced on Sunday morning by provincial cabinet ministers Pierre Moreau and Geoff Kelley.

The new bridge will be comprised of two southbound lanes and a multifunctional track.

“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. “It’s part of our history and heritage. Now, it no longer meets the modern standards of multifunctional road traffic.”

On Sunday, Moreau said the section of the Mercier that currently takes commuters to the South Shore is the oldest and therefore, most expensive section of the bridge on which to perform maintenance.

No timeline has yet been given for the start or end dates of the construction but Moreau said the work will likely begin before work on the new Champlain Bridge is completed in January, 2019.

Since 2013, the provincial government has struggled with what to do with the aging Mercier Bridge. Three options were found; keep repairing the structure, replace it entirely or just replace a portion. For now, the province has elected to go with the latter option.

"The bridge is safe, but it will require until it's replacement $100 million of upkeep work," said Moreau. "It's obvious we have to do something else than just upkeep the bridge."

Complicating things is that jurisdiction of the bridge is split between the provincial and federal governments.

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.

"I was a little, not necessarily upset, but the two parties, the federal government and provincial government are working together to make this a reality," he said. "This isn't a reality unless we say yes, this will get done. They failed to acknowledge our jurisdictional input into all this and that's important."

Moreau promised that some of the work would be done by steelworkers from nearby Kahnawake.

"The decision to rebuild is not a decision that involves any other things than technical advise. Starting from the idea of new construction, they will be involved... It's part of our history, the people of the Mohawk being involved in the specific construction of the Mercier Bridge."