The demolition of Bonaventure Expressway on the downtown side of the Lachine Canal is well underway.
The highway has been off-limits to drivers since last week, and crews have already stripped away the asphalt from much of the road.
In some places crews are already using mechanical shovels to break up the road bed and begin hauling it away.
The demolition will be complete by September, and crews will need an additional two months to build a new street level ramp to and from the elevated, federally-maintained Expressway.
Mayor Denis Coderre says it will only take a few months for the elevated highway to disappear, and for the new traffic configuration to be in place.
By November the four lanes into Montreal and five lanes out of town, including reserved bus lanes, will be equipped with an "intelligent traffic system" to improve traffic flow and cut down on delays.
Engineers promise that the urban boulevard will be just as effective in transporting drivers as the defunct highway.
Next year crews will begin landscaping the area, building a 20,000-metre park that will lie on the 40-metre wide median between inbound and outbound lanes.
Coderre promises it will be a welcoming sight for drivers, pedestrians and residents.
"We're talking about sustainable mobility, we're talking about more greenspace, we're talking about enhancing quality of life because we have some major districts here and this is a wonderful link, you know, with Griffintown, old Montreal and downtown," said Coderre.
"It's all part of the strategy of downtown that we're planning to push forward," he said, referring to Montreal's long-term plan to double the population of the urban core.
The lowered Bonaventure is also expected to tie nicely into the Mountain to River walkway, which will begin several streets east at McGill and De la Commune.
