Traffic worries arise over expressway exit closure
N.D.G. councillor says rebuild project will spur ‘two more years of serious problems’
A Notre-Dame-de-Grâce city councillor is calling on Montreal’s transit agency to increase bus service as Transport Quebec prepares to close the Ville-Marie Expressway’s St-Jacques St. exit for up to 18 months.
Transport Quebec says it will close the exit late this year or early in 2018.
That is expected to exacerbate traffic in N.D.G., particularly around the Vendôme métro station, which will be in the midst of a $76.5-million expansion during roughly the same period, said Peter McQueen, N.D.G. city councillor with the opposition Projet Montréal.
McQueen said many N.D.G. residents who work downtown will end up driving on Ste-Catherine St., Claremont Ave. and de Maisonneuve Blvd. on their way home in the afternoon. Trucks will use Claremont to reach the Vendôme construction site.
The area has seen an increase in traffic due to other Turcot road closures, as well as the opening of the MUHC superhospital in 2015.
“It’s two more years of serious problems for N.D.G.,” he said. “They should be ready to put even more buses in N.D.G. when this hits around the turn of the year.”
The St-Jacques exit closure is also expected to increase traffic on Sherbrooke St. and Côte-St-Luc Rd., McQueen said.
STM spokesperson Amélie Régis said the Vendôme expansion, which includes a wheelchair-accessible tunnel to the MUHC superhospital, is to begin this fall. Construction is to take about two years.
Régis noted that in 2016, the STM boosted service to help people avoid roadwork by using the métro.
A total of 175 rush-hour bus departures were added on 13 bus routes that reach métro stations, including three lines that serve N.D.G. (51, 103 and 105).
The STM said it is considering further increasing service during the St-Jacques closure.
It’s unclear if Transport Quebec is planning any mitigation measures. A spokesperson for the department did not return a call seeking comment.
As part of the Turcot reconstruction project, the St-Jacques exit will be closed to allow for the demolition
They should be ready to put even more buses in N.D.G. when this hits around the turn of the year.
and reconstruction of the Ville-Marie westbound, between Greene Ave. and the Décarie Expressway, Transport Quebec said at a recent public meeting.
By late this year or early 2018, work on the newly rebuilt eastbound Ville-Marie will be completed.
The next phase involves demolishing and rebuilding the westbound side.
For about 18 months, westbound Ville-Marie traffic will be rerouted to part of the new eastbound Ville-Marie.