A major section of Notre-Dame Street East is still down to one lane because repair work has been put on hold.
City engineers say the gaffe could set back the project for months. Officials ordered the wrong size part for the job. The custom made trapdoor entrance to the sewer system was built one foot to small, according to city officials.
The borough of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve was responsible for the management of the project.
Inexperience is behind the mishap, according to the city. A simple but crucial clerical error is to blame, they said.
“We noticed a discrepancy between the dimensions of the part received and the space it must occupy,” the city said in a statement.
After waiting six months for the door to arrive, the cast iron cover was made in imperial dimensions and not metric like the city had ordered.
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The industrial artery has been snarled by the bottle neck for eight months.
Local traffic expert, Rick Leckner says the $20,000 error is inexcusable and a sign of bureaucratic mismanagement.
“Lanes are closed needlessly because things are done when they shouldn’t be allowed,” Leckner said. “This mistake focuses on the lack of good traffic management in the city and who suffers ? Pretty much everyone.”
City councillor and member of the official opposition in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough, Julien Hénault-Ratelle says the city has dropped the ball on this project.
“This saga demonstrates the amateurism of the administration and will create even more congestion in an already heavily hampered sector,” said city councillor Julien Hénault-Ratelle.
“The Plante administration has increased taxes by 10 per cent over the past two years, but the quality of road infrastructure is not improving. Montrealers have the right to have road infrastructure in much better condition.”
Now it’s back to square one with the city saying they are considering all options to reopen the lane.
Engineers could shrink the diameter of the hole to retrofit the new piece. Despite safety concerns , covering the hole with a steel plate is still on the table. In an act of desperation the city is even searching in its inventory for a similar part.
With no precise timeline, the city is searching for a viable solution that could take weeks if not months.
“We are aware of the inconvenience caused by the situation and we are working to restore the situation as quickly as possible,” the city statement reads.