Users of Montreal’s two most important bridges will have to be patient in the coming years as Ottawa plans major construction projects near them.
The federal agency that manages the Jacques-Cartier and Samuel-De Champline bridges recently revealed that it intends to convert the Bonaventure Highway into an urban boulevard between 2025 and 2029. The project involves the complete demolition of the existing structure. The project was in the works for almost a decade. Objectives: Return the banks of the St. Lawrence to Montrealers and calm traffic on this artery.
Image courtesy of Jacques-Cartier and Champlain Bridges Institute (JCCBI)
Concept of converting the Bonaventure Expressway into an urban boulevard
“We are currently in the design, the drawings are being prepared. We also have work to strengthen the banks from 2024,” confirmed Jacques-Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated (PJCCI) spokeswoman Nathalie Lessard. Takes the place of the street.
It is actually a reconfiguration of a highway into a boulevard. We are changing the landscape in this industry. Traffic lanes are being moved from the embankment to create a 2.5 kilometer corridor.
Nathalie Lessard, spokeswoman for Jacques-Cartier and Champline Bridges Incorporated
Bonaventure will maintain three lanes of traffic in each direction, but current plans will reduce the maximum speed to 60 km/h. “We decided to keep the field at full capacity,” said M.me younger
The new “greenway will include a new 4m-wide bicycle lane, as well as a dedicated pedestrian lane,” the JCCBI notes in a description of the project posted online in the Canadian Property Assessment Registry. “On the other side of the boulevard, a pedestrian walkway will run towards the Samuel-de-Champlain bridge. » Around 650 trees will be planted.
CIMA+, AECOM and Daoust Lestage are on the drawing board.
Major work under the Jacques-Cartier bridge
Workers will be active near the Jacques-Cartier Bridge in the coming years.
The JCCBI also revealed this week that it is starting major renovations on the Île Sainte-Hélène Pavilion, the iconic Art Deco building that supports the Jacques-Cartier Bridge.
Photo by Marco Campanosi, The Press
The pavilion of Île Sainte-Hélène under the Jacques-Cartier bridge
“Over the years, several renovations have ensured the stability of this more than 90-year-old building. Today, the pavilion shows signs of damage requiring new work,” the federal agency submitted in the Canadian Impact Assessment Registry.
“Thus, the project aims to extend the life of the pavilion by 75 years, while retaining the building’s main function as the base of a portion of the bridge,” the description continues. “To allow this work in the pavilion, short-term and long-term traffic restrictions are necessary. These restrictions will provide the necessary space for entrepreneurs. »
In addition to supporting the bridge, the building, built in the early 1930s, was intended to serve as an exhibition hall and ballroom, but these plans were never completed.
The work campaign initiated by JCCPI did not provide the interior design of this building.
“It’s difficult to occupy this pavilion because it’s a structural element of the bridge, so inside there’s tremendous noise, constant vibrations,” said Nathalie Lessard. Soundproofing that is hard to imagine. »
The announcement of these central government projects is in addition to numerous projects on major highways in the metropolis. The reconstruction of the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel should last until the end of 2025. The Quebec Ministry of Transport is to undertake the reconstruction of the Metropolitan Autoroute in its elevated section.
The story so far
1964
Inauguration of Aerial Section of Bonaventure Highway
2005
The first plan is to change the highway to allow pedestrians to leave the bank
2017
The City of Montreal is turning part of its arterial into an urban boulevard.
2023
In its budget, Ottawa approves funding to replace the federal portion of the highway.
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