As a construction strike loomed last Tuesday night, workers repaving a section of Rene-Levesque found themselves with a conundrum: a parked car was blocking their progress.

That left two options – call in a tow truck and wait, (which meant the job might not get finished before employees walked off the job) or pave around the car.

They chose the latter. That’s left an unsightly splotch of bare concrete near the corner of Montcalm, the site of which has now become a running joke online, with photos being shared on social media.

 

Projet Montreal opposition leader Francois Limoges said the patch of unpaved road was a metaphor for the administration of Mayor Denis Coderre.

"It's botched, it's mismanaged and it's improvised," he said. "It reflects the whole administration for the whole four years. This is what happens when you don't manage well your work."

The strike began the next morning, and one week later the National Assembly passed a special law that ordered the province’s construction workers back to work on Wednesday.

On July 29, the stretch of Rene-Levesque where the paving took place will be part of the track for the upcoming Formula E electric car street race. Limoges blasted the mayor's decision to hold the race on city streets, which required the new layer of asphalt. 

"Nobody cares about Formula E," he said. "This road didn't need such improvised work."