WATCH ABOVE: Highway 40 is set to get a much needed facelift, set to be completed in the fall of 2014. But as there is already a lot of construction in the area, residents are less than enthusiastic for yet another detour. Rachel Lau has details.
MONTREAL – The city is notorious for traffic, especially during rush hour. Now, part of highway 40 in the West Island is set to close for periodic construction until fall 2014.
“When the construction did all the roads in the first place, it was done not according to true specifications of Canadian roads,” said resident Richard Gordon. “The result is, having all of this infrastructure in and cutting costs over the years.”
The areas affected are between St-Charles in Kirkland and Anciens-Combattants in St-Anne de Bellevue.
“When it comes to the Minister de Transport, they decide what they want and by the way at the very last minute they send you a press release telling you what’s going on,” said John Meaney, Kirkland mayor.
The road will be torn up and replaced in two phases.
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Transport Quebec says phase one will continue from now until November. The second phase is set for next April and will last seven months.
“This will disrupt the flow of traffic more than anything else but we will adapt with a detour route that we will be providing,” said Mario St-Pierre of Transport Quebec.
“We will be providing new paths to go around exit closures so we should be not so bad.”
Transport Quebec says eastbound and westbound traffic will be doing some road-sharing while the work goes on.
Five lanes will stay open throughout construction. Three lanes in the direction of rush hour traffic, and two going the other way.
Residents should also expect occasional complete closures overnight.
“We understand that it has to be done,” said Janet Ryan, Baie-d’Urfe city councillor.
“It’s certainly a stretch of the road that has to be worked on and it’s a necessary evil. I think everybody understands that.”
Some say a town like Saint-Anne that relies heavily on tourism can’t afford another round of construction.
But other residents who we spoke with told us they understand the roads are in dire need of repair.
“The timing is all wrong,” said Gordon. “They should wait until September.”
“It’s already pretty bad, so it can only make it worst,” agreed Jean-Christophe Desrosiers.
“I think he’s not doing his job very well,” said Elsa Vogt of the Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue mayor, Francis Deroo.
The project will cost almost $50 million and does not include work on the Ste-Anne overpass, which has been closed for two years now.
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