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Dorval Circle overhaul: Traffic chaos worth it
City working to minimize impact
Karen Seidman
The Gazette
Thursday, February 26, 2009
While residents and commuters who rely on the Dorval Circle are bracing for traffic chaos next year as the $224-million overhaul of the traffic circle gets under way, city officials are working to ensure the work will have the least amount of impact possible.
“It’s true that the construction could be unpleasant,” said Dorval Mayor Edgar Rouleau. “But we have a committee headed by an engineer and an urban planner whose main objective is to alleviate the trouble the construction will cause.”
He said the committee will constantly assess the situation at the Circle throughout the construction, to determine the right steps are being taken to ensure there are as few delays as possible caused by the roadwork.
“I can’t say there won’t be any inconvenience, but everything is being looked at to ensure it will be the least it can be,” Rouleau said.
On the bright side, said Avrom Shtern, a transportation critic for the Green Coalition, if the traffic gets bad enough during the construction period, it might convince people to use public transportation.
He’s upset the roadwork has been approved without any clear plan for a high-speed rail link or any kind of public transit to accompany it.
“The government is always ready to pour money into highway projects,” said Shtern. “But they shouldn’t go ahead with this before there’s a definite plan in place for the transit aspect.”
Earlier this month, plans were announced to improve the configuration of the Dorval Circle to better serve the airport. At the time, Quebec Transport Minister Julie Boulet said the Dorval Circle is no longer adequate given the amount of traffic near the airport.
The airport is used by about 12 million people a year, while Dorval Circle accommodates about 68,000 vehicles on its Highway 20 overpass and 225,000 vehicles on its Highway 520 (Côte de Liesse Rd.) underpass every day.
Service to the airport is expected to improve by 2011, when users will be able to take an access road from Highway 20 directly to the airport, bypassing the congested Dorval Circle.
Although work won’t really begin until 2010, there could be some delays in June when the two southbound lanes of Highway 520 that lead to the Dorval Circle will be closed for four weeks so workers can lower the road surface to allow construction of an overpass.
James Cherry, head of the Aéroports de Montréal, acknowledged the work will complicate traffic, particularly during the evening rush hour. But he said he believes commuters will deal with the delays because they know the end result will be a much-improved traffic situation.
Dorval resident Richard Moreau agreed with that assessment.
“I live close to the construction and I know it’s a major project, but I believe the work will make things flow better and it needs to be done,” said Moreau. “What’s there now is old and inadequate.”
Rouleau said the project is a big bonus for West Islanders and people using the airport. And there will be some benefits in Dorval, as well, he said.
“Now we have congestion during rush hour, but the (new) ramp will divert traffic away from the local area,” he said.