Construction near Berri-UQAM delayed after almost 2 years of work. What's taking so long?
Portion of De Maisonneuve Boulevard to remain closed as work extends until July
Orange cones and broken concrete have become part of the landscape outside Berri-UQAM Metro station.
For nearly two years, work to repair the waterproofing system that protects the station's roof has disrupted traffic, cyclists and event-goers in Montreal's bustling Latin Quarter.
The first phase of work on De Maisonneuve Boulevard between Berri and Sanguinet streets was expected to be complete by June 2023 but has dragged on nearly a year longer and now should be done by July.
Meanwhile, a second phase of the project that will close off an even bigger part of the area has yet to begin.
So what's taking so long?
WATCH | 'The more we dig, we find some obstacles,' says project director:
Lyne Dubois, project director with the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), says the delay is due to a number of unforeseen obstacles at the complex site.
While excavating De Maisonneuve to reach the roof of the Berri-UQAM Metro station, Dubois says her team encountered many surprises, such as contaminated soil and a large concrete block 20 metres long that needed to be demolished in a difficult to access location.
Dubois says it's not uncommon to stumble upon these problems as the city's infrastructure plans often date back to the 1960s.
"Each of these issues, each of these surprises, can take from a few weeks to a month [to deal with]. So, with a year's [delay], we can calculate 12 surprises. We've had a lot more than 12, but it gives you an idea," she said.
At one point, the project was delayed several weeks when the team discovered a drinking water aqueduct running above the roof of the Metro station had to be replaced, but the city was unable to shut off the water.
Dubois says her teams are "hard at work, evening and weekends" to reopen De Maisonneuve by July.
Shops losing business
While motorists, pedestrians and cyclists are feeling the impact of the ongoing construction due to detours, the area's retailers have not been spared, says Rachel Van Velzen, general manager of the Société de développement commercial du Quartier latin.
"There have been major delays that are unpleasant, especially for merchants who lived through a hard summer last year and who thought this year they'd be done with the work and back to the level of business they had before," she said.
Ali Abdalla, owner of Second Cup Café at the corner of St-Denis Street and De Maisonneuve Boulevard — which has been closed off to vehicle traffic for nearly two years — says the construction has cost him about 30 per cent of his business.
"Customers are not always ready to make a detour and spend an extra 10 to 15 minutes to have their coffee," he said in an interview.
However, more than the detours, Abdalla says, poor communication with the STM has been the biggest challenge.
The owner says the STM has, on multiple occasions, given him no notice that they'd be cutting his water due to construction. When they have provided a notice, he says, they have often changed the time or date at the last minute.
"You send a notice that you'll cut the water on Tuesday morning … so we change schedules, we open let's say by 11, by noon, and two or three minutes before the time, you change it," he said, explaining in those cases, he lost business for no reason.
The city has offered subsidies to affected businesses in the area during construction, but Abdalla says the money is a fragment of what they actually need.
"It's not realistic to think that giving a business on St-Denis Street, where rents are around [$15,000] a month, subsidies up to $40,000 per year would be enough to save them," he said.
Meanwhile, Marcel Jean, general manager of the Cinémathèque québécoise, says the construction site has had no impact on visitor numbers.
"People are coming, but they're telling us it's unpleasant to get there. We mustn't forget that here at the [theatre], over 80 per cent of people come by public transport," he said.
Abdalla is hoping the STM learns from the snags it hit during the first phase of the project as it moves forward with the next.
Phase 2 complete as late as 2029
Much larger than Phase 1 in terms of the area to be excavated, Phase 2 of the project has been postponed until 2025, according to the STM's Dubois.
She says the city will take advantage of the opportunity to revitalize the area by redoing the roadway and sidewalks.
This will require adjustments to ensure that the two work sites are properly linked.
Dubois says construction of Phase 2 is scheduled to start in 2025. The completion date has not yet been set but is estimated between 2027 to 2029.
This phase will include the construction of as many as 700 social and affordable housing units on the site of a derelict bus terminus, known as Îlot Voyageur Sud, located on Berri Street and De Maisonneuve Boulevard.
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with files from Radio-Canada's René Saint-Louis