The effect of de-icing salt used in winter for years would have caused premature wear of the concrete at Saint-Michel station. At least this is the main hypothesis explored by the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) after the announcement of the emergency closure of three stations on the blue line.
Friday morning, federal and provincial ministers as well as the mayor of Montreal were to announce the extension of the blue line. Rather, it was the general director of the STM who took their place to announce that three stations had to close indefinitely.
“We cannot afford to put anyone’s safety at risk,” explains the general director of the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), Marie-Claude Léonard.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
Marie-Claude Léonard, general director of the STM
At Saint-Michel station, damage was observed Thursday evening on a beam located above the footbridge which allows crossing between the two tracks. This major structural damage forces the complete closure of the station for an indefinite period.
Civil engineering teams are investigating and the STM hopes to secure and repair the damage as quickly as possible. Several days, or even weeks, could be necessary, specifies Mme Leonard.
“It’s concrete that is degraded. This is a deterioration that was unsuspected. The reinforcement links are broken,” declares Marc-André Maisonneuve, project director at STN. The de-icing salt, present in the water that users bring in in winter, causes the reinforcement in the reinforced concrete to swell, he explains.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
The “significant deterioration” of a beam located above the footbridge which allows crossing over the two metro tracks at Saint-Michel station forced the closure of three metro stations on Thursday evening.
Asked about the possibilities of other stations having the same type of degradation, the general director of the STM admits that the question arises every time there is an incident of this magnitude. “A review of our infrastructure is carried out regularly, but, as they sometimes say, it is beneath concrete and we need to repair the stations to really see the damage,” she adds.
With Saint-Michel out of service, the only way to return a train in the other direction is at Jean-Talon station. Consequently, the Iberville and Fabre stations must also close.
Special shuttle
The STM announced Thursday evening the closure of the Fabre, Iberville and Saint-Michel stations for an indefinite period. Many Montrealers learned it on the way to work or school.
“The metro is closed. »Metro users were refused entry to Saint-Michel station.
But many public transit users were not aware that the metro was closed, Sarah Halmos-Westram found. The influx of users had diminished as La Presse passed around 9:30, but the STM investigations clerk, stationed in front of Fabre station, reported a rather hectic morning. “A lot of people called their bosses to tell them they were going to be late,” she explains. Some became a little aggressive, saying “Fuck the STM” and “shit system”.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
An STM employee redirects users to the shuttles.
Special constables and STM employees directed disconcerted users to the special shuttle, set up between the Saint-Michel and Jean-Talon stations.
“Do you see the special shuttle? » points out an STM employee for the umpteenth time, camped in front of the barred doors of the station. Line 809 has been deployed urgently and the buses are coming one after the other, full to bursting.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
A shuttle bus service, line 809, was put in place on Thursday evening.
Users have to let several shuttles pass before being able to board, but do not wait very long, according to some passers-by met by The Pressin a line that ran along three sides of the building, around 8 a.m. Friday morning.
Radost, a high school French teaching student, seemed a little discouraged. While she was waiting for the shuttle at Saint-Michel station, she missed an exam in one of her classes at the University of Montreal.