Residents who gathered Monday night in St. Henri for an information meeting about the reconstruction of the Turcot Interchange were unimpressed with the plan.
"I'm astonished, but I think the government should be ashamed," said home-owner Carole Theriault. On a picture board featuring before and after images of the plan, her home appeared in a "before" image, but not in the "after" image. It had been replaced by a park.
The Turcot interchange is where Highways 720, 20 and 15 meet up.
The project means about 100 to 160 homes will be expropriated by the city to make room for the new version of the currently convoluted highway structure.
Residents protested the plan on Sunday. One of the concerns was that the Home Depot was not being asked to move, but individual home owners were.
Transports Quebec says the exchange has been redesigned to meet current environmental concerns, including more green space, an allowance for an east-bound train into downtown, and a reserve lane on Highway 20. It also includes bicycle paths.
However, Pierre Brisset who heads an urban working group, says the environmental concerns were an afterthought.
"This is an opportune occasion to re-look at Ville Marie and introduce public transport," he says.
The interchange was opened for Expo 67. Transports Quebec says 280,000 cars use the interchange daily.
Construction on the new version of the crucial inner-city artery is expected to start by the end of the year, last for about seven years, and cost an estimated $1.5 billion.
