Transport Minister François Bonnardel, accompanied by Chantal Rouleau, junior transport minister and the minister responsible for Montreal, participated in the virtual inauguration of the Turcot interchange.
In a video uploaded to YouTube and shared on social media, the ministers note the near completion of the most important road work project to have been undertaken in Quebec in recent years.
Monday marked the reopening of Pullman Boulevard and its access ramps which were the last major infrastructure components of the Turcot project to be completed.
In 2007, plans were announced to rebuild the Turcot interchange, an important traffic hub in Montreal with an average of 300,000 users daily. The road network interconnects highways 15, 20 and 720, as well as providing easy access to the Champlain Bridge.
The interchange also serves as an important link between Montreal’s Trudeau airport and the downtown core.
Construction work on the main infrastructure components of the project began in 2015 and brought years of traffic headaches to Montreal commuters.
The remaining work — which includes finishing work as well as landscaping — will only be carried out in the spring of 2021.
And while that work will come with some road closures, the end of major construction will no doubt bring some relief to commuters .
In the video, Bonnardel underscored the importance of teamwork in bringing the project to fruition.
“If we have succeeded in building quality infrastructure, on time and on budget, it is thanks to the expertise of the personnel of the Ministry of Transport and KPH Turcot, to the participation of hundreds of workers, to the collaboration of partners, and, above all, to the support of citizens,” he said.
The new interchange is comprised of 56 structures, including three bridges, 145 km of roads and 21 km of railroads. It also includes 10 km of reserved lanes and eight km of multipurpose bike paths.
In a news release, the transport ministry vaunted the project’s environmental sustainability achieved through carbon neutrality.
“Greenhouse gas emissions related to the project’s construction activities will be offset, either through the purchase of carbon credits or planting projects,” the statement reads.
When all is said and done, 9,000 trees and 61,000 shrubs, perennials, grasses and climbing plants will have been planted by the time the project is completed in the spring.