Cavendish overpass closer to reality, still far off

COTE-ST-LUC – After being mired in municipal politics for about 50 years, the Cavendish Overpass has cleared a major roadblock – getting tacit approval from the necessary municipalities and boroughs. It now awaits the green light from the province, something brought into sharp relief by rumours of a imminent election.

“If there’s one thing that the provincial government can do, in terms of 20 minutes saved on the road, it’s Cavendish,” said Alan DeSousa, the borough mayor of Ville St-Laurent.

Ville St-Laurent lies at the southern half of Cavendish Boulevard, which is divided by train tracks that are difficult for drivers to circumvent. The overpass has been looked at as a key toward relieving traffic on Decarie Boulevard.

“It would link Cavendish in Cote-St-Luc to Cavendish in St-Laurent. They’re only about a kilometre apart, but it takes about 25 to 30 minutes to drive between the two locations without traffic,” said Anthony Housefather, the mayor of Cote-St-Luc.

Cote-St-Luc famously opposed the project until about 17 years ago. Now with about 40 per cent of its population needing this kind of corridor to get to work, the municipality is one of its biggest proponents.

The possible upcoming provincial election could play a major role.

“Of course it will be a difference if the PQ is in power where we might have more difficulty getting funding than if the Liberals win an election,” Housefather said. “Because I think it would be more likely that they would fund it.”

The project was once slated to cost about $140 million, and that figure will almost certainly rise. The province is scheduled to get the file in June. The soonest the project could be completed is within five years, but few officials believe it can happen that fast.