MONTREAL – A new bus terminal that was supposed to open at the Lionel-Groulx métro station by the fall will now only be ready next spring, Montreal’s transit authority says.
The $3.3-million terminal, announced in March and financed by Quebec, was part of a plan that included three new express bus routes between the West Island and Lionel-Groulx. The 405, 425 and 485 started in April.
The idea is to encourage West Island residents to take public transit, thereby reducing car traffic on Highway 20 before work begins on the new Turcot Interchange.
The terminal, including awnings over bus stops, is going on a new stretch of Greene Ave., between St. Jacques and Delisle Sts.
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The STM says it will help streamline bus traffic. Located at Atwater Ave. and St. Jacques St., Lionel Groulx is now served by 11 bus lines.
Société de transport de Montréal spokesperson Isabelle Tremblay said there was a delay of several weeks in starting work in the summer because the project required authorization from several provincial departments.
That was followed by unexpected construction delays after workers starting extending Greene, in the fall.
In November, officials said passengers would start using the boarding zone by year end, with the shelters installed in the spring.
But the entire area remains a construction zone and the cold weather means construction can’t continue.
“In the spring, after the thaw, we’ll need a few weeks to finish it,” Tremblay said.
Last month, reports showed ridership is low on the three new West Island expresses using Lionel-Groulx as a terminal. The routes were still not indicated on métro-station signs that gave passengers the location of buses. Nor were any maps posted showing individual routes of the new expresses.
The STM has since installed temporary, plastic-covered signs outside Lionel-Groulx pointing passengers to the new lines. The agency also plans to launch a campaign to promote the routes.
Quebec spent $23.1 million to purchase 32 new buses for the lines. It has earmarked a further $5.8 million per year to operate them.
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