The first phase of work to demolish the Saint-Jacques overpass has been completed, after three weekends of work.
As of 5 a.m. Monday, traffic flowed freely on the Decarie Expressway.
The overpass has been closed since March 2015, forcing the 20,000 vehicles that use it every day to be rerouted.
“Most people have figured out a way to get around it, or just avoided it,” said Global traffic reporter Debbi Marsellos.
“It’ll be nice to have it back. It’ll be considered a shortcut.”
Work to bring down the overpass started in early July, causing a series of closures on the highway.
READ MORE: Scary drive greets motorists approaching the Saint-Jacques overpass
The dismantling process had some drivers worried about the safety of the structure.
Now, there’s just one small portion left to take down.
“The last span will be dismantled this fall,” explained Transports Quebec spokesperson Nomba Danielle.
“We had to deal with up to 3,000 metric tonnes of concrete.”
With the last stage of construction coming this fall, that means more traffic is on the way.
“We’ll have school, more volume, everyone will be back at work. It will be a nightmare,” said Marsellos.
“We had it good the last few weekends.”
READ MORE: Saint-Jacques overpass dismantled by the autumn
Over the course of the next year, the Saint-Jacques overpass will be built back up, with a very different look.
“The new bridge will be a cable bridge,” said Danielle.
“It will have the same capacity and be available by December 2017.”
The 30-meter tall sound barriers along Addington Street will stick around until the end of the project.
The new bridge will be a key feature in the redesign of the Turcot Interchange.
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