Mayor Denis Coderre vows ambitious capital-works plan will see light of day

​From major road repairs to building public toilets to giving a facelift to its arenas and baseball fields, the City of Montreal has released its list of capital spending priorities for the next three years.

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The city is planning to spend $5.2 billion on capital works between now and 2018.

The remaining 25 per cent will be spent on new projects.

Nearly $1.5 billion is earmarked for road works, including work on the Turcot interchange, redeveloping Plaza St-Hubert and improving a section of the north end of Papineau Avenue.   

The city also plans to spend around $1.2 billion on its water infrastructure, replacing aging water and sewer mains, improving drinking-water production plants and building an ozone wastewater-disinfection project.

Special projects to celebrate Montreal's 375th anniversary are expected to cost $329 million. That includes the development of Parc Jean-Drapeau, the redevelopment of Sainte-Catherine Street West, the construction of an urban walkway from the mountain to the river and renovations to Viger Square.

Municipal arenas and baseball fields will get a facelift, at a combined cost of around $90 million.

The mayor also wants to implement the "Montreal, Smart and Digital City Strategy" at a cost of nearly $50 million. 

That means investing in new transportation technology, building a "dynamic parking system" in underground lots and building a new website for the city. 

Opposition doubts work will get done

The opposition at city hall is skeptical about whether the mayor's plans will actually become reality. 

Projet Montréal Leader Luc Ferrandez said the city has managed to complete barely half of the projects announced in previous years. 

"You can pour as much money as you want in this file, if it doesn't translate into real work, it's not important. And this is what's happening," said Ferrandez. 

He said part of the problem is that the city has cut its workforce, leaving too few people to plan, let alone get the work done. Ferrandez said the city then turns to private contractors, but they often don't work to the schedule set out by the city. 

But Coderre is confident the ambitious list of projects will see the light of day. 

"We are not just putting a list to put a list," said Coderre. "That's where I am very vigilant, and the administration is very vigilant."

Here's a breakdown of spending by category.

Detailed breakdown:

Roads

• Repair of traffic arteries: $258 million.
• Repair of local roads, in addition to borough efforts: $180 million.
• Supplementary road levelling and surfacing program to improve road quality:  $170 million.
• Repair of road structures, in ensure their safety and durability: $61.9 million.
• Upgrades to street lighting: $50 million.
• Development of the bike path network, at a rate of 50 km of new paths each year: $45 million.
• Redevelopment of Turcot Interchange: $30.9 million.
• Redevelopment of Plaza St-Hubert: $25.8 million.
• Redevelopment of Papineau Avenue between De Louvain Street Est and Crémazie Boulevard: $25.7 million.
• Connection of Cavendish Boulevard: $13.5 million.
• Redevelopment of the Sherbrooke Street Est area: $4.5 million.

Water infrastructure

• $463 million for the secondary water main and sewer network renovation program.
• $166.3 million for the ozone wastewater-disinfection project.  
• $119.7 million for projects to modernize six drinking water production plants (Atwater, Des Baillets, Dorval, Lachine, Pierrefonds and Pointe-Claire).
• $75 million for the Rosemont and Dollard-Des Ormeaux reservoirs and pumping stations.
• $71.7 million for work on the Rockfield, William, Lavigne, Leduc and Marc-Aurèle-Fortin retention structures.
• $67.8 million for work on the network of primary water lines.

Neighbourhood renewal

• Support for the Outremont Campus project and its surroundings, including development of a new university district: $74.5 million.
• Consolidation of efforts in the Griffintown area: $46.5 million.
• Urban reclassification of the Namur–Jean-Talon Street Ouest area: $30.4 million.

​Services and facilities

• Upgrading and harmonizing borough services across Montréal and other improvements to services for residents: $155.7 million.
• Developing and building five residual material-processing infrastructures (two biomethanization-processing centres, two composting centres and a pilot pre-processing center) which will begin operating in 2019 to 2024: $126.9 million.
• Reconstruction and increased protection of buildings housing Montreal police (SPVM) and Montreal fire department (SSIM): $97.3 million.
• Upgrades to municipal arenas: $77.3 million.

Smart City investments

• Implementation of the Montreal Smart City strategy: $48.6 million.
• $7.6 million for a program for transportation systems that use new technologies.
• $3.3 million to implement a dynamic parking system for underground parking lots.

Other investments

• Completion of the last phase of the Quartier des spectacles, the development of Esplanade Clark – a public space on the western edge of Clark Street that will include a refrigerated outdoor ice rink: $46.9 million.
• Continuing projects and programs related to the 2013-2025 Montréal Aquatic Intervention Plan: $30.2 million.
• Continuing redevelopment of Dorchester Square and Place du Canada: $25.2 million.
• Implementation of a renovation program for Montreal's ball park: $13 million.
• Investments in social and community housing: $8 million.