Photo: Dave Sidaway, The Gazette
And so the sad stupid story of Turcot goes into the next phase – a bad plan that will make some people a pretty good buck.
Transport Quebec gets head start on Turcot project
By Andy Riga, GAZETTE Transportation Reporter
MONTREAL – Call it the bridge to nowhere.
Transport Quebec is currently building an imposing $6.7-million overpass that will not be used for several years.
It’s at the corner of Pullman Ave. and Ste. Anne de Bellevue Blvd., on the border of Notre Dame de Grâce and the Sud Ouest borough.
It’s the first structure to be built as part of the long-awaited $3-billion Turcot Interchange reconstruction project, to run until 2018.
“It’s preparatory work for the new Turcot,” Transport Quebec spokesperson Caroline Larose said of the overpass.
The structure will circumvent Canadian National train tracks that are to be moved as part of the Turcot work, she said. But it’s unclear when the train tracks, currently about 100 meters away, will be relocated.
That move will happen “in the years to come,” she said. And roads in the area will not be connected to the overpass for “several years.”
Simard-Beaudry Construction Inc. won the contract to build the overpass.
Transport Quebec can’t start on many other parts of the Turcot because final plans for the entire project will not be ready until year end, Larose said.
Major Turcot construction contracts will not be signed until after those plans are in place, she added.
But the location of the overpass now under construction had been decided, so Transport Quebec is getting a head start by building it now, Larose said, adding the structure is in an area where construction will not disrupt traffic.
Pullman has been moved slightly to accommodate the construction site, which currently consists of several concrete walls and deep holes. The work has not hampered traffic in the area, which connects LaSalle and N.D.G., and N.D.G. to Highway 20 and the Mercier Bridge.
Transport Quebec has recently opened tenders for other Turcot preparatory work. Those contracts will be for work related to public services such as sewers, water mains and Hydro-Québec; the reorganization of local streets; and preparing sites where work will be done in the future, Larose said.
The Turcot Interchange project will involve rebuilding the Turcot, De La Vérendrye, Angrignon and Montreal West interchanges, as well as stretches of Highways 15, 20 and 720.
ariga@montrealgazette.com
twitter.com/andyriga
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