By 2029, the Bonaventure Expressway will be transformed into an urban boulevard and the relocation of the traffic lanes will allow the development of a green corridor along the river. Ottawa will invest $282 million in this project which risks causing headaches for motorists during the duration of the work.
The project aims to convert into a boulevard a segment of 2.5 kilometers of ground lanes, between the Victoria Bridge and Gaétan-Laberge Boulevard, whose construction dates back to 1966. The new boulevard will have three lanes in each direction — as is is the case at present – but the vocation of one of them could be adapted according to traffic needs. It could, for example, be transformed into a lane for buses, explained Sandra Martel, chief executive officer of the Jacques-Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated (JCCBI), during a press conference Tuesday in the company of the federal Minister of Transport, Pablo Rodriguez, and Mayor Valérie Plante.
“The work will be carried out in a highly contaminated area, which involves a lot of risks and unknowns, in particular geotechnical issues, the disposal of contaminated soil and requiring atypical construction measures,” explained Mr.me Martel, specifying that the budget of 282 million included a significant portion for unforeseen events.
As this is an area where contaminated materials have been used as backfill, the federal government and the City of Montreal have made significant investments to protect the river’s water over the past decade. “But entrepreneurs will have the information at the start. As we go along, we will adjust,” said Mme Martel.
The speed limit will increase from 70 km/h to 50 km/h and traffic lights will be added in two places in the redeveloped segment. Moving the lanes over a distance of 150 feet will also allow the creation of a green corridor for cyclists and pedestrians. “It’s a win-win project. The thing that was extremely important to me was to reclaim the banks and allow the population to get closer to the water,” said Mayor Plante. “We will be able to walk there, we will be able to jog there and cycle there. So we are adding an active transportation offer which is really important. »
This axis being very busy, with 20 million passages per year, the construction site risks disrupting traffic, since it is expected that only two lanes in each direction will be accessible during the first phase of the work which will take place between 2025 and 2027. Sandra Martel hopes, however, that many motorists will opt for the Metropolitan Express Network. Work to develop the green corridor will take place from 2028 to 2029.
PJCCI does not yet know whether the elevated lanes of the highway will also be the subject of work in the more or less near future. “We have just given almost 300 million. We will look at that later,” commented Minister Rodriguez.