The provincial government knows traffic in Montreal is frequently slow, and that it's only become worse with a rash of necessary road repairs over the past decade.
But now Transport Quebec has a new and improved way to keep an eye on vehicles on highways and bridges.
Transport Minister Robert Poeti showed off the $11 million upgrades to the Montreal traffic centre where provincial employees watch bridges, highways and overpasses.
Seventy people watch 330 cameras on provincial roads in and around the city and make decisions to help keep cars moving.
They will dispatch police and tow trucks, change the warning messages on billboards, or switch on emergency ventilation in tunnels in the event of a fire.
"The government has to be on track with modernity, and right now you have the image of what we can see all around Montreal to make sure the traffic is going better," said Poeti.
The traffic centre is not, however, tied into the monitoring of city streets. That task is handled by Montreal's own group of watchers in their own control centre.
The province hopes it will be able to integrate the two control centres in the future.
For now, the employees at the provincial traffic centre will continue to work 24/7 to keep track of the 135 incidents that take place every day on the highways
