A new set of roadwork projects is on the way for the Montreal region as part of the Quebec government’s plan to overhaul some of the island’s road network.
Chantal Rouleau, the province’s junior transportation minister, announced on Tuesday that the more than $1 billion in funding will help secure and upgrade roads, bridges and other infrastructure.
“It depends on the section on the island of Montreal, but for sure some, our investments were not at the highest level in the last years,” she said.
“So we have to invest more and we have to do more work to upgrade the level of quality, of durability of those infrastructures.”
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Some of the roadwork plans are already underway or have been previously announced, including the major overhaul of the Ville-Marie and Viger tunnels.
“Our infrastructure needs a lot of love,” said Rouleau.
However, the province is also investing in more than 10 new projects, including several for Montreal, the West Island and Laval.
Among the new projects are repairs to bridges surrounding Highway 40 in Montreal and the Town of Mont-Royal. In Dorval, the St-Régis overpass over Highway 40 will also be repaired.
The government is also investing up to $5 million in the makeover of Notre-Dame Street West between Angrignon Boulevard and De Courcelle in Montreal.
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There is also a plan to fix Highway 720 between the Ville-Marie tunnel and Greene Avenue in an area that borders the city and Westmount, with work beginning in 2020-2021.
However, some residents and employees in the area are worried about the more construction near Green Avenue.
Heidi Schuster, who works at a daycare in Westmount, said she has concerns it could affect children.
“The noise does bother the kids, obviously,” she said. “It bothers me because when we are going for walks, and the constant noise, it’s very loud.”
In Montreal’s West Island, the government is investing in several existing projects, including repaving Highway 40 East between Morgan Boulevard and St-Charles Boulevard.
As part of fixing the road network, the Quebec government revealed that the Town of Baie-D’Urfé will get its long-awaited sound wall. The structure will be located south of Highway 20 between Lakeview and Apple Hill roads.
Baie-D’Urfé Mayor Maria Tutino said she is excited that the highly-anticipated sound wall will finally be constructed. The work will start in 2021-2022.
“After many years of talking about it, we will now have a partner that will make this a reality,” she said.
— With files from Global News’ Kwabena Oduro