Two weeks into the construction on St. Denis, and merchants are dreading the near two-year stretch that's still to come.
Many of them say they're already seeing the effects of the construction on their business - it's noisy, it's dusty, and it's narrowed the sidewalks in the area, they say.
There's already been years of construction on St. Denis, and more is coming on the north end of the street between Faillon and Jarry St. in Villeray.
The work is to replace St. Denis' aqueducts and sewers, which the city says are in dire need of repair.
The original sewers were installed in 1899, and the aqueducts in 1912.
But although the construction is inevitable, city officials say this may not necessarily be a repeat of the last work blitz on St. Denis.
They're implementing new measures to ensure work goes smoothly, and that street traffic isn't entirely compromised.
"Without new equipment in the middle of the street, we would have to close all of [St. Denis] during the construction work," explained Philippe Sabourin from the City of Montreal.
Right now, a section of the street is completely closed to traffic - drivers cannot travel to the southern end of St. Denis.
But narrowing the barriers between traffic and the construction zone, Sabourin said, helps circulation.
"As you know, the infrastructures are built in the middle of the street," he explained. "So at first, we thought it was impossible to keep one lane in the North direction. But you'll notice, in the middle of the street, we're not using concrete walls. We're using a new material that is less wide, so it keps the city to keep one lane."
Sabourin said he's confident the St. Denis project could end up being used as a model for other construction sites in the city, but business owners said they fear facing the same fate of businesses in the Plateau section of St-Denis. There, 16 per cent of storefronts were vacant by the end of a two-year major roadwork project.
"We don't want that to happen, but we know it's out of our control," said Rajitha Manickavasaga of Les Fruits St-Denis. "It's already affecting our business and it's just the beginning. It's not going to be okay."
