With summer coming to a close and students headed back to school next week, a seemingly perpetual traffic disaster in Montreal is about to get worse.
A busy section of Decarie Blvd. southbound will be a tough slog for eight weeks as the city makes water main repairs between Queen Mary and Cote St. Luc Rds.
Only one lane will be open daily from morning until 3 p.m. A second lane will open during afternoon rush hour and overnight
The work is expected to last from Monday August 25 until mid-November.
The viaduct on Snowdon Ave. will also be closed to vehicle traffic but not to pedestrians. Motorists will have to take a small detour over the expressway on the Earnscliffe overpass.
This isn't the first time this strip of Decarie has been the site of repairs.
The city has confirmed the water main at the centre of the work is the same one that broke three years ago.
In April 2011, the broken main caused a flood on the service road and in local businesses. The city cited wear and tear from all the traffic.
“Some of our pipes are really ancient in Montreal. They need to be changed. Particularly pipes like this one, it’s a major conduit, 900 millimetres, so a major conduit. This is a $2.2 million project. This pipe has been leaking and there have been major breaks in the last few years. It needs to be done,” said CDN-NDG borough councilor Marvin Rotrand.
The city said this time crews are installing new equipment which is expected to be good for 50 years.
Work is scheduled to continue through mid-November.
Rotrand said more work will be need south of Cote St. Luc Rd. road within the year, as part of the city's larger plan to improve Montreal's water pipes.
