The Jacques Cartier Bridge

Having walked under the Turcot Interchange on many, many occasions I recently had a chance to compare notes with what is probably Montreal’s greatest elevated roadway – The Jacques Cartier Bridge!
Turcot always struck me as being very solid despite how scary it can look in some parts where the rebar is showing or even hanging out. But this bridge is one hell of a very solid thing and compared to Turcot it really looks almost brand new. So I have to wonder why we decided to go with concrete when steel and stone seems to be so successful?

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The Doney Spur (4)

Continuing the journey with Avrom Shtern and Andrew Dawson.

Here is a map of this leg. We started at Sources and went east.

As far as I know the La Belle Province on the left is the only open 24 hours place on the entire West Island.

Trains used to go right up to that door. (right in?).

Avrom and Andrew checking out one of the countless sidings, wyes, and backtracks that have been pulled up but attest to how busy the Doney was in it’s day.

They used to load up here but the doors are bricked up.

Avenue Andre.

Had to follow this one.

There was all kinds of these on the tracks. Maybe they like the warmth? This was a very hot day. It’s usually about 3-5 degrees warmer on the tracks as the steel gets hot, but the ballast also holds it in like a good old brick oven!

It s astonishing how much rust the rails can take and still be usable ( at very slow speeds I would guess).

Start of the Saint Francois Spur.

Here it splits. That is Golf Dorval (what’s left of it) due south.

I don’t think you will see a diamond crossing with a switch going into a building like that too often.

Back on the Doney, still active over in there.

Approaching the bridge that crosses the 40 otherwise known as the Trans Canada Highway.

Looking west.

Looking east. This was a Sunday afternoon. Traffic, what traffic?

And we called it a day up ahead at rue Douglas -B- Floreani.

We had taken the 215 bus from Cote Vertu Metro to get out to Sources and took the 215 back to Cote Vertu. While I am often critical of our (lack of) public transportation, I am quite willing to offer praise when it works so damn well as that!  Cars, on the other hand, are not very good for this kind of trekking as you have to walk all the way back to where the car is parked. Was a good one.

More to come.

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Los Angeles River

Found a nice blog today similar to this one called Nature Trumps: An LA River Blog Compiled By Jay Babcock. Do check it out!

And found a great group on Flickr that shows their photographs of the Los Angeles River and many of it’s overpasses, infrastructure, art, and green spots. Go here.

Echo_29

fourflatfive

fliegender

lavocado@sbcglobal.net

raphaelmazor

mrfitz

My selection does not do justice to the group, but space, as they say, is limited. Enjoy!

There is also FoLAR (Friends of the Los Angeles River) who are planning a huge mural project on Sepetember 22 and 23.”Over 100 artists from L.A. will be joined by visiting artists from San Diego, the Bay area, and as far away as Germany to transform a section of the L.A. River into a unique, vibrant collaborative mural”. Check it out here.

Not to be outdone is FOVICKS, (Friends Of Vast Industrial Concrete Kafkaesque Structures), Greg Ercolano’s photoessay of the Los Angeles River.

Photo Greg Ercolano

And a reminder that we have posted about John Humble‘s work on the Los Angeles River as well. It’s here.

Gee, it s getting a little lonely being the lone soul on the Turcot bandwagon. Anyone want to join? (smile).

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Galipeault Bridge To Get Facelift

Article here makes the $98,000,000 estimate seem like a downright bargoon in this age of the billion dollar project. I just love how “reducing traffic congestion” seems to be the main selling point. Is the article really about the bridge work or is it about the renovations in downtown Sainte Anne De Bellevue and further development in that area and Ile Perot? It all seems so much like spin to me.

Bridge + Local Redevelopment + Development = Not reduced traffic congestion. Perhaps politicians should be held accountable for what they say projects will be all about? If this project does not reduce traffic congestion then let them be responsible – even if they are out of office at the time.

Here are some pictures from James Gore.

Autoroute 20 as it begins on the western edge of the Island of Montreal.

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The Crumbling Bridges Of Quebec

The saga continues with a report in The Gazette today by Phil Couvrette.  A bridge in St.Lin-Laurentides, about 80 kilometers north of Montreal, will be  demolished and a  new one built in it’s place.

“Talk of replacing the bridge goes back about four years, said Mayor Andre Auger, and the seriousness of the situation became obvious last year when chunks of concrete started falling off.

But it was the death of a worker repairing the bridge earlier this year that prompted an investigation which led to the discovery of cracks below the water line and forced immediate large-scale work.”

Scary stuff! How many time bombs are ticking across the province?

Full Story Here.

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Structurally Deficient

The Interstate 35W bridge that collapsed in Minneapolis on Wednesday and killed at least 9 people had been rated as “structurally deficient” as early as 1990 by the US government which at the time cited corrosion in it s bearings. Story here.

Photo courtesy ShangaiDaily 

In another story, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty ” said the bridge was inspected by the Minnesota Department of Transportation in 2005 and 2006 and that no structural problems were noted. “There were some minor things that needed attention,” he said.  Story here.

In Quebec there are 140 + overpasses that are in a questionable condition regarding user safety. In 2000 one man was killed when a concrete beam fell, and 5 more died in 2006 when an overpass collapsed. Was Laval our tragedy, or is there more to come?

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