Here's why Montreal's latest construction headache needs an additional $900M

Oct 19 2022, 6:37 pm

Commuters in Montreal can brace for traffic headaches as the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel will be going through major construction over the next three years.

As of October 31, three out of the tunnel’s six lanes will be shut down until at least fall 2025.

Drivers will need to get creative, says Transports Québec, as one lane going to the South Shore from the island will shut down and two Montreal-bound lanes will be closed. Essentially, Montreal-area commuters heading to and from the South Shore will have to make do with three lanes.

Quebec’s transport ministry is urging the 120,000 average daily users of the 55-year-old tunnel to come up with “creative plans,” over the next three years.

What’s more, the tunnel’s construction needs an additional $900 million towards what it calls an “essential project.”

Gilles Payer, a publicist for the Ministère des Transports du Québec, tells Daily Hive that there were “various technical issues” during the design phase of the tunnel. In particular, Payer says “greater deterioration than expected” was observed in the vault of the tunnel and the interior panels — initially considered for protection against fire — were not durable enough.

The ministry’s objective is to ensure the La Fontaine tunnel can operate for another 40 years without any other work or major traffic disruptions.

Payer reiterates that the public needs to keep in mind that the project is being carried out with the design-build-finance (DBF) model. The ministry sets certain guidelines but a contractor has to perform tests and complete the project design. “It’s normal that some elements change during the design phase,” Payer admits. “This is a bit like when you renovate a house and some damage is discovered after you have begun the work.”

Payer says the projection materials have been reviewed for “better durability” and that the work sequence had to be adjusted due to undergoing such a large-scale project during Montreal’s cold winters.

He also says tests on the construction site have shown a more advanced level of deterioration than expected: “The repair method was revised to apply an extra layer of concrete over the entire surface of the vault.” Payer also notes that the tunnel’s louvre beams ad structural elements that protect the ventilation equipment need to be repaired.

Payer says the near $1 billion re-estimation of the tunnel’s repairs is due to its “fair share of challenges.” He says the complex structure is in a “particular environment” and that additional costs of $900 million are “necessary to complete” the essential project — specifically for additional interventions, an extended work period, and enhanced mitigation measures.

The Canadian government will contribute $427.7 million in funding as part of the country’s New Building Canada Fund and the cities of Montreal and Boucherville will also tack on $3 and $1.1 million, respectively.

Ty JadahTy Jadah

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