A water main break forces the City of Montreal to intervene urgently on Saint-Antoine Street, very close to the Palais des congrès. The event, detected late Sunday afternoon, is not linked to heavy rains, but forces the closure of two lanes on the artery until further notice.
“We noticed a leak under the paving late Sunday afternoon, around 3 p.m. We will have to close the aqueduct, then carry out an excavation for repairs as quickly as possible,” explained the administrative spokesperson for the municipality, Philippe Sabourin, on Monday.
Around ten buildings should therefore lose their water supply for several hours. The leak that occurred on a pipe of approximately 12 inches caused an apparent hole in the roadway on Saint-Antoine Street, between Saint-Laurent Boulevard and Saint-Urbain Street, it was noted The Press.
Road repair work should also be launched by Tuesday and could take a few days.
PHOTO THE PRESS
This new water main break took place in a particularly dilapidated area of the city center. The hole is located directly across from the old Steeve’s Music Store.
We still do not know the exact cause of this event, but since it initially occurred on Sunday afternoon, when the rain had not yet arrived in the metropolis, the breakage would not however be due to an overload of water in the City’s water facilities. Assessments carried out in the coming days will reveal more about the exact circumstances of the case.
“When an underground breakage occurs, it can sometimes happen that the embankment stone, in other words the foundation of the roadway, is in some way washed out or washed by water. This will then cause a slight subsidence of the roadway. However, it is rather abnormal,” explains Mr. Sabourin on this subject.
Immediately, two lanes were closed as a preventive measure on Saint-Antoine Street on the north side. Only one lane of traffic will therefore be maintained in the east direction until the situation is brought under control.
A dilapidated area
This new water main break took place in a particularly dilapidated area of the city center. The hole is located directly across from the old Steeve’s Music Store.
The building having been abandoned for years, its facade had to be reinforced by an imposing scaffolding in order to prevent its collapse. This has been in place for three years now.
In the road next to the hole, the City must resurface the street several times a year. Indeed, the rails of the tram abandoned 70 years ago regularly pierce the roadway, creating imposing potholes. In addition to these infrastructure problems, a homeless encampment has sprung up nearby in the park The Press. Several half-collapsed tents dot the place.
Even if it is not linked to it, this event occurs as heavy amounts of rain fall on Quebec on Monday. In Montreal, a 20-year-old record has already been broken, at a time when the hope of a white Christmas seems weaker than ever.
With Pierre-André Normandin, The Press