It’s official. After 30 years of rumours, the metro’s Blue Line will be extended.
On Monday, Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard made the announcement, accompanied by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante.
Couillard said work on the five new stations serving the northeastern part of the city should be completed by 2026, adding that there won’t be any more delays or broken promises.
"The project itself is guaranteed, we're past the point of no return," said Couillard. "You can't ask people to leave their homes and then say a few weeks later 'I'm not sure, we should reconsider.'"
Construction on the new stations will begin in 2020 with an expected budget $3.9 billion, with about 60 per cent paid by the province.
Along with the new stations, the project includes a pedestrian tunnel, two bus terminals and a 1,200-space underground parking facility connected to Galeries d’Anjou
“This part of Montreal deserves better transport infrastructure and we're making sure they receive it,” said Quebec Transport minister Andre Fortin.
Quebec City and Ottawa will each invest $16 million into the first phases of the project, which include the acquisition and expropriation of buildings, planning and calling for tenders, as well as setting up the project's offices.
Couillard said that while plans for the Blue Line extension have been kicked around for years, this time, it's for real.
Until the project is completed, Plante said the 300 new buses her administration recently announced will help increase access to public transit.
"There are 300 buses coming and we'll be working on other plans as well," she said. "I feel like we're on the right way. There's still a lot of pressure on the Orange Line and though we're super excited about the Blue Line, it will add some pressure. So we need to come up with short term, middle term and long term strategies to make sure our public transport network is working right."
According to early reports, the new stops will roughly line up with Jean-Talon Blvd, with stations located on Pie-IX, Viau, Langelier, Lacordaire, and Anjou.
Trudeau said the extension of 5.8 kilometres will serve commuters well.
“Once completed, the Blue Line extension will mean a faster commute, less time in traffic and more money in people's pockets as they trade their cars for public transit,” he said.
The metro is expected to revitalize neighbourhoods in Montreal's east end, help with urban and economic development as well as jobs, said Paul Micheletti of the Society for Commercial Development, Jean-Talon.
“The whole area in the east is going to be positive. You have the 25, you can bring people in by bus. It's huge, it's huge for the east,” he said.
Some will be affected negatively, though, through expropriation.
“We feel for them and we hope they have solution and they are well compensated if there are losses,” said Micheletti.
No firm date has been set to begin construction, only a tentative end of phase one.
“Once we finish this planning stage – somewhere around 2020 – then the mode of contracting will be decided,” said Couillard.
