Motorists will soon have to drive more slowly on the Bonaventure Expressway, under penalty of fines. From June, the speed will be lowered to 50 km/h for several months, while extensive maintenance work will force the removal of one lane in each direction on a major section of the axis.
This was announced Thursday by the federal Crown corporation Jacques-Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated (PJCCI), during a technical briefing held in downtown Montreal. It will first be necessary to repair the slabs on the section of elevated lanes of the Bonaventure Expressway between the Victoria Bridge and the Peel Basin between the months of May and November.
From May to November, the work will result in the closure of one lane per direction, in addition to the complete closure of the highway from exit 2 for six weekends, both in the direction of the city center than the Samuel-De Champlain Bridge.
Exit 3 will also have to be closed towards this same bridge for a month, while avenue Pierre-Dupuy, under the Bonaventure highway, will be closed for 25 nights and two weekends, in total.
To ensure the safety of workers, the speed will be lowered from 70 km/h to 50 km/h “along the entire Bonaventure axis” between June and November. This will be a sort of preamble for this highway, the federal part of which must be transformed into an urban boulevard backed by a linear park by 2029.
Other axes overloaded
The organization will also repair beams and renovate concrete surfaces on the Clément bridge, located nearby, which will generate significant obstacles, including the complete closure of the highway at exit 4 during 52 days, between June and August. The right lane of Boulevard Gaétan-Laberge will also be completely closed towards the city center, between July and December.
In short, “the Bonaventure axis will undoubtedly be the axis most impacted in terms of mobility”, argued Thursday the director of JCCBI projects, Raphaël Lavoie, ensuring however that the phasing of the work was designed “to optimize impacts on users.
Further east, the Honoré-Mercier bridge will not be outdone. Between the months of May and December, the complete closure of several access and exit ramps is planned, particularly towards routes 132 and 138, especially at night. Avenue des Autochtones will also have to be closed for several months.
On the Jacques-Cartier Bridge, the renovation of the Île Sainte-Hélène pavilion will force the closure of the sidewalk between Montreal and Longueuil between June and December.
Users will nevertheless be able to continue to use the multifunctional path; the sidewalk was already closed between Sainte-Hélène Island and Montreal due to cleaning and painting work on the structure. The old toll booth will also be demolished by this fall, but this will not cause any hindrance.
Focus on deconstruction
JCCBI also took advantage of its press conference on Thursday to provide an update on the deconstruction of the old Champlain Bridge, which was completed this winter.
In total, 56 spans, 53 piers and 53 footings were deconstructed. The project, lasting 41 months, was concluded two months before the scheduled deadline, in addition to respecting the initial budget of 225.7 million. The pandemic, however, took its toll, with additional contingency costs of 8.9 million.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Some 264,000 tonnes of materials were generated. Of these, 100% of the materials have been traced and 96% recovered, with 90% reused and 10% recycled, including only 4% waste.
“We wanted to avoid having nothing left and wanted to leave several legacies to the community,” said the first director of JCCBI, Sandra Martel, emphasizing the “collaborative approach” around the project. “At no time did we hand over the keys to the project to the contractor. Deconstruction was our common project. […] We intend to learn the best lessons from this for our next projects. »
Mme Martel says that the initial public consultations “helped eliminate a lot of fears among the population.” Only three complaints were recorded during the 41 months of work.