A major water leak broke out Friday morning in Montreal near the Jacques Cartier Bridge, spilling a significant amount of water into nearby streets and flooding many homes. The area should be avoided, and authorities recommend not taking the Jacques Cartier Bridge to enter the city.
The leak began around 5:45 a.m. at the intersection of René-Lévesque Boulevard and De Lorimier Avenue. About three hours later, water was still flowing at a steady rate.
A water main break is believed to be the cause of the leak, but the exact cause of the break remains to be determined.
“All teams are mobilized on the ground to identify the cause, close the valves and plan repairs,” wrote Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante on the social network X. She promised that other information will be relayed during the day.
In an interview with RDI, the administrative spokesperson for the City of Montreal, Philippe Sabourin, estimated that about a hundred homes were flooded. He mentioned that the priority is to ensure the safety of people who live in the neighborhood, for which he urged curious onlookers not to come to this area located at the gates of downtown.
Mr. Sabourin mentioned that the city’s teams must still identify the precise location of the break before being able to close the valves. This process will then have to be done gradually and could take half a day.
The City of Montreal is scheduled to hold a press briefing at 9:15 a.m. to provide an update on the situation.
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PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
A spokesperson for the SPVM said it would be preferable for South Shore motorists who planned to use the Jacques Cartier Bridge to enter Montreal on Friday morning to choose another route.
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PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
A lot of water has accumulated in the area.
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PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
Power had to be cut in the affected area. Hydro-Québec reports that approximately 13,000 of its customers are affected by an outage in Montreal.
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PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
Several bus lines of the Société de transport de Montréal are being diverted.
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According to our information, the building housing the CTV, RDS and Noovo studios, located at the corner of Papineau and René-Lévesque, was also flooded.
Police officers from the Montreal Police Service (SPVM) were dispatched to the scene to close the impassable streets. Firefighters from the Montreal Fire Department (SIM) also went to the scene.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
On the social network X, the SIM asked the population to avoid the area of Sainte-Catherine Street East and De Lorimier Avenue due to “major” flooding.
The quadrilateral between Papineau, De Lorimier, Sainte-Catherine and Viger streets is currently closed to traffic. The Ville-Marie tunnel is also closed in the eastbound direction. Motorists are being redirected to the Saint-Laurent Boulevard exit.
On the social network X, the SIM also asked the population to avoid the area of Sainte-Catherine Street East and De Lorimier Avenue due to “major” flooding.
For his part, officer Jean-Pierre Brabant, who is a spokesperson for the SPVM, mentioned that it would be preferable for motorists from the South Shore who had planned to use the Jacques-Cartier Bridge to enter Montreal on Friday morning to choose another route.
“A lot of water has accumulated in the area,” he confirmed. “We are asking citizens, if they can, to avoid the area for the next few hours, and as for the Jacques-Cartier Bridge, to take another alternative to come to Montreal.”
Several bus lines of the Société de transport de Montréal are also being diverted. The various authorities are closely monitoring the Papineau metro station, on the green line, but it continues to be served.
Power was also cut in the affected area. Hydro-Québec reports that approximately 13,000 of its customers are affected by an outage in Montreal.