Traffic Problems Were Predictable

MUHC ado about traffic

Wayne Larsen for The Westmount Examiner

“At a public meeting held last Tuesday at the Crowley Arts Centre – itself suffering from accessibility issues caused by the MUHC project, as it is situated just south of the blocked-off section of Decarie at de Maisonneuve – it was announced that regular users of the St. Jacques Street access ramp from the Ville Marie Expressway will have to find alternate routes over the next seven months. The reason for this, officials stated, is that the ramp will be closed for the construction of a St. Jacques entrance to the hospital site. That work is scheduled to start next week and continue through late summer.

Not only that, but the St. Jacques overpass that crosses Decarie is slated to be demolished next year as part of the massive Turcot Interchange project. If provincial transport officials’ estimates are accurate, that should inconvenience local motorists for about a year and a half – hardly an attractive proposition for commuters. Add to this roadwork on neighbouring arteries and the possible closing of the Vendome metro station for the necessary renovations for hospital access and we have a situation that transcends mere inconvenience.”

Full story on this page.

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Turcot Project Cost Attacked

…uh, some people are just starting to figure this out? When the Ministry of Transport of Quebec announced it’s plans for a New Turcot Interchange in 2007 the estimated cost was 1.5 Billion. After a few years of rigorous protest from almost every imaginable representative of the Montreal community, and which for a while even included Montreal’s seesawing spineless mayor, Gerald Tremblay, the MTQ went back to the drawing board, added a few shrubs, trees, and some grass bordered bicycle paths, and brought in a new estimate of 3 Billion! What does it say about you if you believe that is a reasonable rise in cost?
Also important to remember that the Champlain Bridge, certainly a member in good standing in the Turcot infrastructure family (keep in mind that the Champlain is only 1 or 2 kilometers down the road from La Verendrye, which is part of the MTQ’s Turcot plan) is probably going to have to be replaced. That the busiest bridge in Quebec is just a wee bit down the road from Quebec’s busiest interchange is not a coincidence. And, clearly, that will cost more billions. If the Champlain starts falling in the next 6 or 7 years we can add it to our total traffic nightmare scenario for the Turcot era.

Gazoo article about Turcot costs

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Traffic Nightmare Preview on Jan 24

Andy Riga takes a look at a part of Decarie closing that will surely be a preview of things to come.
Story here.

You can also check out Andy’s YouTube channel.

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