Work on the Turcot Interchange is on schedule and on budget, but the traffic headaches are yet to come.
Reporters got a tour of the work site for the new interchange Friday afternoon. Transport Minister Robert Poeti was among the elected officials on hand and warned there’s no way around the chaos the project will cause, but said the government will work to mitigate that chaos.
Over the next five years, 45 new structures will be built and installed to replace the existing ones, which will be demolished. About 10 per cent of the work is done, including the new Pullman Blvd. which will connected St. Jacques St. to Notre Dame St.
Next year, the part of the interchange that connects to Highway 20 will be replaced, which is when the traffic madness is expected to begin.
When asked about putting more trains on the Vaudreuil-Hudson line to help ease traffic, Poeti didn’t give a direct answer, instead pointing out the AMT doesn’t own the lines and will try to improve public transit while the work goes on.
Poeti did say the government is working on a project, one the Caisse de depot announced it would fund earlier this year, that would see a light-rail train system created connecting the South Shore, downtown and the airport.
It remains to be seen whether the train line will be up and running before 2020, when the Turcot work is supposed to finish.
