The running joke is Montreal is the orange cone capital of the world, and it looks like plenty more will be around as the city plans to invest billions in infrastructure by 2019, and a good chunk of it is to fix up the crumbling concrete and asphalt.
"To get Montreal back on good footing [...] we want to give Montrealers a city where infrastructure underground, and for roads, is safe and efficient,” Mayor Denis Coderre said in announcing the $6.38 billion in infrastructure spending planned from 2017 to 2019. That is over $1.1 billion than original budgeted.
About $2 billion is going to road repairs and protection, something the mayor says is badly needed, with nearly half of 4,050 kilometres of roads around the city in need of urgent if not immediate repair. $415 million alone is going to road paving and leveling.
Money is also earmarked for various construction projects, including:
- Connecting both sides of Cavendish Blvd. Cost: $24.5 million
- Replacing the Jacques-Bizard Bridge. Cost: $38.5 million
- Urban promenade on Ste-Catherine St. W. Cost: $72.3 million
- Adding 50 km per year of bike paths to the current network. Cost: $45 million
Among other things getting funded are:
- Building and developing five new compost treatment centres for completion between 2019 adn 2024. Cost: $114 million
- Upgrading sports arenas. Cost: $86 million
- Developing Griffintown area as condo boom continues: $48.5 million
- Upgrading local police and fire stations: $86.7 million
In hopes of keeping any added municipal debt to a minimum, the city is paying over $1 billion in cash, instead of relying on the usual method of interest-laden long-term loans.
The unveiling of the three-year plan does show the city behind on some of its major projects, and over budget on others.
The planned extension of Cavendish Blvd. That was to be completed by 2019 is still on the books, but remains in limbo as land negotiations continue with CP and CN rail.
Meantime, an announced animal shelter and control centre—originally expected to cost about $23 million—will now cost over $34 million.