A new access road is being planned for the Port of Montreal, aiming to ease congestion and travel time for transport trucks.

As many as 1.5 million containers arrive at the Port of Montreal every year. Transporting those goods requires 2,500 trucks to enter and leave the port daily.

“If we don't move our stuff efficiently and reliably, our customers are going to go elsewhere,” said federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau at an announcement about the new road on Monday.

An investment of almost $46 million from Ottawa will help build a new access route for trucks out of the port and prevent bottlenecks.

“That causes delays, that causes extra expenses, so this is a way of getting them to the TransCanada, and to their destinations, because we're in a very competitive world,” said Garneau.

The Montreal Truckers’ Association said it is pleased with the news.

“Obviously right now it's pretty chaotic and it creates a general frustration with the users,” said the truckers’ association CEO Marc Cadieux.

The project will extend de l'Assomption Blvd. between Notre-Dame St. and Pierre-de-Coubertin Ave., creating a more efficient link between the highway and the port.

“It will give all trucks direct access to the Port of Montreal. It's a big change,” said Sylvie Vachon, president and CEO of the Montreal Port Authority.

It will improve the port's appeal to those choosing a place of entry, she said.

“When they decide what port to use, they look at two things: cost and transit time, so that project will have an effect on our competiveness,” she said.

The federal government's $46 million will cover half the cost, with the city and the province contributing the rest.

Details haven’t yet been made public.

“All those numbers will be published in the upcoming months,” explained Sylvain Ouellet, vice-president of Montreal’s executive committee.

Private land is an issue; the city wouldn't confirm if any portion would have to be expropriated.

“I don’t want to confirm our strategies for the land, because it could be complicated,” said Ouellet

Permits and environment assessments are next, but no one is anticipating any problems.

“It will certainly be the greatest things we've heard in a long time for the Port of Montreal,” said Cadieux.

Most players say the new route should be in place by 2021.