On budget and on time.
That's how Transport Quebec described a new section on Highway 30, inaugurated Sunday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Candiac.
As of 5 a.m. Monday, motorists will be bypassing Candiac completely by using this new stretch of Highway 30.
The $86-million Jean-Leman stretch of road on the South Shore is the eastern part of the Highway 30 beltway intended to ease traffic around Montreal and become an economic boon.
"It's a very important link, because it is what will create a highway from Sorel to Chateauguay," explained Transport Minister Pierre Moreau, on hand for the event.
At 3.4 kilometres, it was the last link on the east side of the cement-paved highway, with four lanes, five overpasses and one rail overpass, creating a link from the Highway 30 stretch in Chateauguay to Highway 15, as well as the stretch of Highway 30 starting in Candiac.
Montreal-area highways and South Shore bridges are jammed thanks to an increasing volume of vehicles and the long-overdue extensive roadwork in the region.
""It is a relief for the Champlain Bridge. It will be a relief for the Turcot Exchange, because if you are driving a truck from east to west and you want to go to Ontario, there's no more need, once the bridge will be opened," said Moreau.
Lost productivity from vehicles driving through the city will soon be a thing of the past, said Tourism Minister Nicole Menard.
"When we talk about our movement, we are talking about $200 million, once the autoroute is finished," she said.
At $1.5 billion, the final and most expensive western stretch of Highway 30 – from Chateauguay to Vaudreuil-Dorion – should be completed by December 2012, said Moreau, adding that it will have great economic impact.
"It is estimated that there will be $80 billion dollars over the next 30 years that will be created because of the Highway 30," he said.
