Commuters to the Island of Montreal who take the Île-aux-Tourtes Bridge will eventually do so via a brand new span.
The CAQ government announced quietly on Thursday that the existing 2km structure, which transports roughly 83,000 cars to and from the West Island every day, will go into retirement sometime between now and 2030.
“It’s needed,” said CJAD 800 traffic expert Rick Leckner. “People have been suffering off and on because of this repair work that has been going on for about a year or so, at times with only two lanes instead of the three.”
In December 2017, an inspection revealed a serious risk of falling concrete, leading to a patchwork of repairs that have already cost the government around $100 million, according to Leckner.
The plans are still years away from being finalized, but the announcement released on the Ministry of the Environment’s website indicates that the new span will be significantly wider than the existing structure.
“Much like the Champlain Bridge, there will be three lanes in each direction, with a dedicated reserve lane for mass transit, and likely a pedestrian lane, as well,” said Leckner.
The dedicated bus lane is a key point for Vaudreuil-Dorion Mayor Guy Pilon.
“I’m very happy to finally know what they are going to do with it,” he said in an interview with CJAD 800. “I’m espectially happy about the fact that they will put it wider and add an extra lane for transportation for the buses.”
The expedited bus service will link off-island transit users with the new light rail transit system scheduled to be finished sometime in 2022 or 2023.
Pilon says this will make a world of difference for his constituents who are currently bused to Cote-Vertu.