More traffic woes for west-end residents
Turcot work to last four years, cause closures
Recently announced construction work on the Turcot Interchange starting in August promises to exacerbate the traffic woes of westend residents for the next four years, particularly those in western Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Montreal West and LaSalle.
Work required to shift CN train tracks farther to the north and the dismantling of a train tunnel running under Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue Blvd. will mean the temporary blockages of several streets in the region of St-Jacques St. W. and Angrignon Blvd., which links N.D.G. with LaSalle, as well as the closure of on-ramps and exits to and from Highway 20 East, linking the western sector to downtown Montreal.
The main obstacles the project faces include:
The exit off Highway 20 E. to get to St. Jacques St. and Angrignon Blvd. will be closed for four years, with vehicles rerouted to Notre Dame St. W. and through stoplights to get to Angrignon Blvd., which drivers heading into N.D.G. will have to use to make their way to St-Jacques St.
The on-ramp for Highway 20 E. located in Ville St. Pierre, accessible via St-Pierre Ave., will be closed for four years, starting in December.
Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue Blvd., the stretch of road linking the western end of St. Jacques St. to Highway 20 W. and the Mercier Bridge and serving as the conduit from Highway 20 E. to St. Jacques Blvd., will see its number of lanes cut in half from mid-October to mid-December.
The part of Angrignon Blvd. that connects N.D.G. to LaSalle and provides access to Highway 20 E. will be closed for a month from mid-November to mid-December.
In some cases, the closures will require lengthy detours, particularly during the closing of Angrignon Blvd. Commuters coming off of Highway 20 E. to get to LaSalle will have to follow a circular 4-kilometre path to St. Jacques St., back west through N.D.G., Montreal West and Ville St. Pierre, under Highway 20 and over to Notre Dame St. W.
N.D.G. councillor Peter McQueen acknowledges the work on the Turcot Interchange is necessary, but questions the viability of some of the detours proposed. He is asking that alternate measures like increased public transportation be put in place during the worst of the blockages that will come in November when Angrignon Blvd. and its access to Highway 20 is shut down. Much of the traffic, he worries, will be rerouted through the already busy Highway 20 on-ramp at Sherbrooke and Girouard, or the Côte St. Luc entrance to the Décarie Expressway, causing already congested roads like Sherbrooke, Monkland and Côte St. Luc to become further clogged.
“This will mean further traffic disruptions for the people of Montreal West and Ville St. Pierre as people start detouring through there,” McQueen said. “Some of that traffic will also head through eastern N.D.G.
“My question is, is the STM (Société de transport de Montréal) ready to put more buses on the reserved bus lane route on Sherbrooke?
“And do it when the work starts, not wait three months to do a count when it’s too late. The 105 buses are already jam-packed by the time they get to Grand Blvd.”
KPH-Turcot, the consortium that won a $1.5-billion contract to replace the crumbling Turcot Interchange over five years, presented its plans at a public meeting in the Sud-Ouest borough last week at a regularly scheduled consultation meeting with residents and other stakeholders.
Transport Quebec spokesperson Sarah Bensadoun said residents are encouraged to give their input, and modifications can be made.
The Comité Bon Voisinage Turcot NDG-Westmount will meet Tuesday from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Centre communautaire Saint-Raymond, 5600 Upper Lachine Rd., to present plans and hear reaction from citizens.
The total cost of replacing the interchange, which links Highway 20 with Highway 15 and the Ville Marie Expressway, is estimated at $3.7 billion, much of it to be done by Transport Quebec.