Businesses hurt by Decarie detour

MONTREAL – The feared traffic tie-ups did not materialize Monday, but businesses near a strip of Decarie Blvd. now closed until 2012 say the city isn’t following up on promises to help them survive the closure.

Montreal is spending $4.7 million to install a sewer collector pipe on Decarie between St. Jacques St. and de Maisonneuve Blvd. in Notre Dame de Grace. The sewer will serve area homes and the under-construction McGill University Health Centre.

As of 7 a.m. Monday, the 13,000 vehicles that previously used the strip daily have had to find a new route.

Police officers directed traffic, sending motorists toward the detour on Girouard Ave. Motorists faced some delays but traffic was not extensive.

A handful of businesses dot the area, including garages and the KoSA Arts Centre.

"The city hasn’t done what it said it would do," said Gordon Nelson, owner of the Nelson Garage, which has been in the area since 1928.

Montreal promised to install signs telling passersby that businesses are open. It also said motorists going east on St. Jacques would be able to turn north on Prud’Homme Ave. to reach the area, Nelson said.

Two small signs alert passersby to businesses. As for turning on Prud’Homme, the path is blocked by barriers. And a confusing array of signs greets motorists on eastbound St. Jacques. One warns not to turn left on Decarie. That’s followed by one suggesting a U-turn to reach St. Jacques westbound.

City spokesperson Philippe Sabourin said the U-turn at Decarie is legal and is the suggested route to the area.

Before motorists can turn on Prud’Homme, a traffic light must be installed, Sabourin said. It’s unclear when that will happen.

The strip of Decarie is to reopen in 2012. Construction of the 3.7-metre-diameter sewer is to take three months. After that, the underpass at Decarie and de Maisonneuve will be demolished and rebuilt.

In a bid to keep trucks off residential streets, a new entrance was opened last week at the MUHC site. The access – on St. Jacques, just east of Decarie – will remain until construction is completed, MUHC spokesperson Julie Paquet said. The hospital is to open in late 2014.

The city of Montreal and the MUHC want construction vehicles to access the site via an access built from Glen Rd. in Westmount, but Westmount has rejected that option.