This time seems (really) to be good for the extension of the blue line. The digging of the titanic tunnel will be the subject of a call for tenders before Christmas, the demolisher who will free up space for the stations has been found and the big boss of the new CHUMs and MUHCs has joined the project, learned The Press.
The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) is soliciting the construction market these weeks for several parts of the future construction site.
The most important: the digging of the 6.2 kilometer tunnel, from the current Saint-Michel station to the Galeries d’Anjou and even beyond.
“The chosen construction method is based on the use of a tunnel boring machine for the sections of tunnel between the Pie-IX and Anjou Ouest stations”, the rest being promised for blasting, indicates a qualification notice published by the STM and which ended at the end of September.
The firms or consortia chosen will then be able to bid for a call for tenders which will open “in a few weeks”, before Christmas, specified Philippe Déry, of the STM. This will be “the largest contract to be awarded in the blue line extension project”.
The STM does not want to indicate how many players have qualified, but the imminence of the call for tenders indicates that it is a sufficient number to allow competition. An essential condition in order to avoid a surge in prices, which could paralyze (again) the project.
Last August, the STM evaluated the overall project at 6.4 billion.
“The project is progressing, we continue to take several concrete steps,” added Mr. Déry. The request for qualification document specifies that the tunnel must be dug from 2023 to 2026.
IMAGE PROVIDED BY SOCIÉTÉ DE TRANSPORT DE MONTRÉAL
New blue line infrastructure plan around the future Anjou station
A notice recently sent to Montrealers living near the intersection of highways 40 and 25 also reveals that the location of the underground garage east of the Anjou terminus has changed, but that the station will have two entrances, each side of the A25.
Six buildings demolished next year
Meanwhile, on the surface, the STM has found the demolition company that will clear the land on which three of the new stations and a technical building will be installed. The expropriations have already taken place and the buildings (a former gas station, a duplex, a restaurant, professional offices) are vacant.
Buildings that will be replaced by blue line stations
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PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
Service station that will give way to the Lacordaire station.
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PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
Commercial building that will be replaced by a technical building near Saint-Michel station.
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PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
Commercial duplex that will give way to the Pie-IX station.
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PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
Restaurant that will leave its place at Viau station.
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“During the year 2023, six buildings will be demolished, in order to secure the sites and prepare the sites for the excavation phase which will begin in 2023”, indicates Philippe Déry, of the STM, in an email to The Press. “Like the completion of work on the urban technical networks in several sectors, this is a concrete and tangible sign that the project is progressing, as the STM continues its preparations for the excavation of the tunnel and the construction of the stations. »
After the opening of the bid envelopes, Demex, from Chicoutimi, should win the day with a bid of $850,000. However, the contract is not yet officially concluded.
“A few other buildings will also have to be demolished in 2024 to make way for the new stations,” added the STM.
“Surround yourself with the best resources”
In addition, the STM has retained the services of the conductor for the construction of the new University of Montreal Hospital Center (CHUM) and McGill University Health Center (MUHC) to advise it on the project.
Clermont Gignac, 75, was given a mandate without a call for tenders “to analyze and transfer expertise” for the extension of the blue line. Price: $92,000.
Former Deputy Minister of the Government of Quebec, Mr. Gignac also worked at Bombardier before taking the lead on two hospital projects.
“It’s marginal. I put a few hours into it, ”he explained to The Press, specifying that the amount of the contract covered several years and that “it’s not expensive per hour”. “I am now 75 years old, my jobs are made. I won’t take on a big project, but I recommend them based on the experience I’ve had. »
Hospitals or metro, “it’s project management”, he underlined. “I give them my feelings and they do what they think is good. »
Mr. Gignac joins the many consultants whose services the STM has retained for this project in recent years. The governance structure of the project office — which included 14 committees — has also been criticized.
“The STM wishes to surround itself with the best available resources”, justified the STM, with regard to the contract awarded to Clermont Gignac. “Mr. Gignac knows the STM and its stakeholders well, thanks to his professional experience and his involvement as an external member of the Asset Monitoring Committee of the STM’s Board of Directors. »