Residents losing patience with delays of new bridge on Ile Bizard

Ile Bizard's newly-elected mayor, Doug Hurley, is a retired police commander who says Montreal hasn't properly addressed how to manage traffic for the 18,000 people who live in his borough.

The city is building a new bridge to replace the current one, which has reached the end of its life. But the construction work has dramatically reduced traffic flow with no alternative route to reach the island.

"It basically means if you're a resident here between the hours of roughly 3:30 till 6:30 at night, you're going to be delayed 20 minutes to almost 50 minutes in traffic for about 300 yards, which is ridiculous," said

• Here are the weekend road closures

The Jacques-Bizard bridge is the only way to get on or off the island. A police officer at each end of the bridge now directs traffic but the mayor says it's no longer enough, especially for the safety of pedestrians.

"The problem is car (drivers) are getting impatient. They cut between pedestrians," he said, adding that he fears a tragedy could be looming.

Hurley is asking the city to force the contractor to find a way to open two lanes during rush hour and to add more traffic police. Former borough councillor Robert Samoszewski, who used to be part of the Valerie Plante administration, agrees the city didn't live up to its promise of providing better traffic flow.

"I don't understand why they've dropped the ball. And essentially that's what it is to me. We need more police directing traffic," Samoszewski said.

Hurley says the police department regularly assigns cadets — who are police academy recruits without authority to issue tickets — and says aggressive motorists often ignore them. But the City of Montreal says it can’t do much right now.

The city’s engineers say opening two lanes is simply not an option. A major portion of the road work will be completed in late May, which will likely allow the opening of an additional lane.

But what’s even more frustrating for people from Ile Bizard is that the construction of the new bridge was supposed to be completed this year. Unfortunately, engineers stumbled upon a major problem while doing the work — they will have to reinstall a pillar, which is expected to delay the project by up to a year.

Local residents have had just about enough.

"With all this, we're thinking of selling the house and all that," said a mother of a teenager told CTV News as they walked out of a local store.

Businesses are also suffering because of traffic and detours. A bakery owner who would only identify himself as Giuseppe says the impact of the detours has reduced business in a nearby strip mall by up to 40 per cent.

But there's another headache looming. An international golf tournament, the President’s Cup, will take place in September at the Royal Montreal Golf Club of Montreal, located on Ile Bizard. It’s expected to attract golf fans, stars and celebrities from around the world.

"I won't only have 18,000 [residents]. I'll have 30,000 per day additional people coming on the island," said Hurley.