Montreal speeding up repairs to ageing infrastructure

Montreal is investing $531 million in upgrades to the city's ageing water mains, roads, sidewalks and reservoirs in 2016.

"There's no question we need to invest in our infrastructure," said Montreal executive committee member Lionel Perez. "We need to speed up the work."

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The money will go towards 400 work sites across the city. Nearly half of the funds will go directly to the city's water network to rehabilitate 65 kilometres of water mains and sewers and other improve water pressure in six places.

The breakdown includes:

• $200 million for roads, sidewalks, road structures, traffic lights, street lights.
• $190 million for the water main and sewer network. 
• $62 million for "major projects" in the water network. 
• $79 million for roadwork. 

• See an interactive version of the map

This year, a new pilot project will be rolled out on St-Denis Street on the Plateau, where local residents and business owners are enduring a maze of construction work. 

The street will get a system that uses Bluetooth technology to detect in real time how long it takes for cars to cross through the construction zone. The time will be displayed on signs nearby, to inform drivers of the expected wait time and help reduce traffic jams.

"It shows we're trying different ways to accommodate and minimize the impact on our citizens," said Perez.