The rehabilitation of Sainte-Catherine Street is extending westward this year and the City of Montreal wants to relieve merchants. A subsidy of $1.5 million per year will be paid to merchants affected by this major project, which will close the street to car traffic.
This project will begin on August 7, 2023 and should be completed in 2025. The bill is around $66 million for the replacement of the water pipes between Mansfield and Peel streets and the redevelopment of this commercial artery.
Each of the storefront merchants will receive a check for $5,000 as soon as the work begins. Then, the losses related to the temporary closure of the street will be compensated up to $40,000 “per fiscal year”, if these losses exceed 5% of the company’s gross profit.
This assistance also concerns merchants on rue Metcalfe, between rue du Square-Dorchester and Place Mount-Royal and between René-Lévesque and Sherbrooke.
It is a “boost” for all those who will see a construction site bother them for 3 years, argued in a press briefing Luc Rabouin, responsible for economic and commercial development on the executive council of the City. “We have expanded the assistance dedicated to them in order to support even more merchants and allow them to adapt their business practices from the start of a project. »
19th century pipelines
The underground pipes date from the late 1800s, said infrastructure and asset maintenance manager Émilie Thuillier. A whole “pipe spaghetti” is hidden underground, which will require workers to work almost “with mittens” to dig everything up without breaking any of them.
Before the replacement of these pipes planned for 2024, an archeology work will excavate this year the places in search of historical elements.
Ultimately, the redevelopment of rue Sainte-Catherine in 2025 will allow pedestrians to gain 60% of space, like the portion of the street already redone to the east.
The City is not too afraid of the impacts of the construction site on tourism. “We see the work because we live there,” noted Émilie Thuillier, but a survey of visitors indicates that they are almost 100% satisfied with their experience despite the previous work on Sainte-Catherine.
The workers will mainly work during the day, but certain parts of the site will take place at night when it is necessary to close access to a business.
A Citizen Information Session will be held on Zoom on July 19 for those with more specific questions.
The rehabilitation of rue Sainte-Catherine will extend beyond 2025 towards rue Bishop and even Saint-Marc.