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The consortium building the new Champlain Bridge in Montreal says it is aiming to have the structure ready as planned by the end of 2018.

The reassurances came Thursday as a published report in Le Journal de Montréal said the new bridge won’t be ready on time and that the current Champlain Bridge will have to be kept in service a while longer.

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None of the stakeholders would comment directly on the report, but authorities are holding a technical briefing Friday to give an update on the progress of the work.

The new structure is being built by the Signature on the Saint Lawrence group, a consortium led by engineering and construction firm SNC-Lavalin.

Annie-Claire Fournier, a spokeswoman for the consortium, said a planned opening before Christmas remains in the cards.

“What I can tell you from SSL’s perspective is that the objective remains to deliver the bridge in December 2018,” Fournier said.