Workers began tearing down part of the Bonaventure Expressway that leads into the downtown core on Tuesday.

It’s part of a project to turn the expressway into an urban boulevard in time for the city’s 375th anniversary in 2017.

The federal government and the city each own part of the highway. While the federal government opted to replace its part of the Bonaventure, the city decided an elevated highway no longer fits in with the landscape of the neighbourhood. What was once an industrial area is now an extension of downtown with housing and office space, and the city’s point man on the project said an urban boulevard better suits the area’s look.

“[The project will] provide downtown Montreal with a new prestigious entrance that will really, I think, be favorable to the city's image,” said engineer Pierre Sainte-Marie.

This phase of the work is expected to last five to six weeks. Crews are demolishing the portion of the northbound lanes of the Bonaventure owned by the city, starting north of the Lachine Canal until Wellington St. As the lanes are torn down, construction on the new lanes will begin. The goal is to have the northbound urban boulevard lanes done by November.

Right now, three of six lanes on the highway are closed to be demolished. Of the remaining lanes, two are dedicated to traffic coming into Montreal and one is for traffic heading south until drivers reach the Lachine Canal.

"That lane on the highway will be used by the buses and by the traffic coming out of the Ville Marie Expressway towards Champlain Bridge," said Sainte-Marie.

Next year, the same work will be carried out on the southbound side.

Sainte-Marie said the federal government has been working on its part of the highway for three summers, each time making two lanes available in either direction and it has gone smoothly. No extra buses have been planned, and he encouraged commuters to take advantage of vacant seats on buses coming into and leaving the city.

“We’re confident that with set up we’re bringing in that things will go fine,” he said, adding they will be monitoring the traffic situation and modifying their strategy as they go.

Once the project is finished, a ramp will lead towards the new boulevard, which will take drivers from the Champlain Bridge over the Lachine Canal and into the city. The plan also includes green space and an urban park.