SAINTE-ANNE-DE-BELLEVUE – The long wait is almost over for thousands of drivers who have been waiting to use the Boulevard des Anciens-Combattants exit off the A-40.
The exit will open to traffic on Friday with a new T-intersection that will replace the intertwining overpasses that had been there for years.
“I’m very pleased. It’s long waited and it’s certainly about time,” one person told Global News at the Sainte-Anne village.
The new T-intersection cost about $3.4 million with the west-end town picking up about $1 million.
Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue’s mayor insisted drivers have had to put up with lengthy detours in recent years to get around, but those frustrations will soon come to an end.
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“I think the work was done beautifully. I think every detail was taken care of. So, yeah I am very pleased,” said Mayor Paola Hawa.
“We will see how it works when it actually opens up.”
The exit off the A-40 is a major route for those trying to go between the northern part of Sainte-Anne’s and the southern area near the waterfront.
Thousands of drivers heading between Sainte-Anne’s and Île-Perrot also rely on the exit.
Traffic lights have been installed, but they won’t be operational Friday, according to the mayor.
Hawa said technical issues still need to be worked out with Hydro-Quebec.
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She admitted there may be some traffic delays as people get used to the new a T-intersection, but she insisted it will be an improvement compared to the network of overpasses that once dominated the landscape.
“In terms of traffic flow, there is no real advantage to having a T-intersection versus an overpass,” she said.
“In terms of cost and longterm maintenance, this is much more cost effective.”
A press conference will be called Friday morning to inaugurate the opening of the new intersection.
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