Traffic congestion clogged the heart of downtown Montreal on Tuesday morning as the intersection of Guy and Ste-Catherine streets was closed for emergency repairs to some crumbling infrastructure.
Crews began work accessing a ruptured sewer line underneath the major artery.
Located five metres underground, city officials said crews will be attempting to repair the sewer from the inside — and hopefully avoid drawing out the length of the street closure.
The full extent of the damage to the infrastructure, which dates back to 1885, is still not known.
“Actually, we are pretty confident our technique will work. We will work inside the sewer to fix the collapsing wall. If it doesn’t work, we are expecting then we will need weeks to complete the operation,” Sabourin said.
While still open to pedestrians, Guy Street is completely closed to vehicle traffic.
Unannounced street closures cause major headaches for drivers during rush hour.
Detours via St-Mathieu and Bishop Street have been put in place to access north and southbound directions of the city.
Excavation work, if needed, is expected to begin this weekend.
According to the city’s best estimate, the corner could be reopened by Feb. 5.