VILLE-MARIE CLOSINGS WRAP UP — FOR NOW

QI live and work in the West Island, so it is on the weekends I go downtown. How much longer do I have to deal with the weekend closing of Highway 15 South or Highway 20 East to the eastbound Ville-Marie Expressway?

Tired of sitting and waiting, and sitting and waiting.

Joan Oksenhendle, Dollard-des-Ormeaux

AYour patience will be rewarded, Joan, as last weekend was the last one when the Ville-Marie Expressway was scheduled to be closed for work to demolish the old highway, said Martin Girard, a spokesperson for Transport Quebec.

“The expressway was totally dismantled in April, and since then, crews have been cleaning up the debris, but that should be finished by (Friday),” Girard said.

The expressway was closed over 12 weekends to demolish the old structure, and cars have been driving on the two lanes of the new structure built to replace the old Ville-Marie. Over the next few months, crews will work to build the third and fourth lanes of the eastbound highway, and when that is completed, work will begin on demolishing the westbound highway at the end of the year.

Westbound traffic will be diverted to the third and fourth lanes of the eastbound expressway.

Girard said there will probably be other closings of the Ville-Marie while the demolition is underway.

The work is part of the $3.67-billion project to rebuild the Turcot Interchange.

Because of the enormity of the work, there will be traffic headaches in the sector until the project is completed in 2020.

QHow come on streets such as Sources Blvd. and St-Jean Blvd. in Dollard-des-Ormeaux there are big street sign names about 100 metres from the next street, whereas in Montreal on wide boulevards such as eastbound Notre-Dame St. you can hardly see or read the street name until after you get to the corner?

Having larger street names would be helpful for people trying to find their way around, and in Montreal, you have no idea of the street ahead of time.

I think it would be much safer and would help steady the flow of traffic if there was advanced knowledge of the name of the street.

This would be helpful and it’s a way to make driving safer in Montreal, especially on roads that are frequented by large trucks and vehicles, or on streets where there are large trees and other obstacles.

A reader, Dollard-des-Ormeaux

AThe city of Montreal is bound to follow the norms set out by Transport Quebec, explained Philippe Sabourin, a spokesperson for Montreal.

Sabourin pointed out the norms are guidelines outlining the minimal requirements and the city is permitted to surpass those norms. In fact, in some areas, like in Montreal North, and downtown on René Lévesque Blvd. at the corner of Robert-Bourassa Blvd., there are larger signs like the ones seen in the West Island.

However, it is up to each individual borough to decide whether to have such signs and the central city takes care of the main arterial roads.

In the case of Notre-Dame St., it would be the central city that would decide if larger street names are required, so you could send a letter to the mayor, or Aref Salem, the person at the executive committee that takes care of transportation issues.

Notre-Dame St. has been waiting for a modernization project from the city and the Quebec government for several years now. It’s likely if the street names are changed, it would be only after that project is completed because it would probably result in a significant redesign of the street.