Sources interchange to be reinforced

BY ALBERT KRAMBERGER

editor@transcontinental.ca

A section of the Sources Boulevard-Highway 20 interchange requires reinforcement, a Transport Quebec official told The Chronicle last week.

Of the four ramps that make up the interchange, located at the border of Dorval and Pointe Claire, one section requires support, said Transport Quebec spokesman Henri Gilbert. The Sources Boulevard north exit ramp off Highway 20 in the western direction will be worked on next year.

“We will reinforce it with supports, at a cost of about $1 million,” Gilbert said, adding the work is expected to take place sometime in 2008.

“Maybe we will also change the geometrics of the structure since four (sections) is a lot, but that project to rethink the interchange, to simplify it, will be in five or six years only,” he added.

Dorval Mayor Edgar Rouleau would like to see the Sources-Highway 20 interchange revamped to ease traffic, but added people should not be concerned about the structure possibly collapsing.

“The layout is absolutely not the norm. From whatever direction you are coming, you have to cut through traffic. It’s like NASCAR,” he said.

Meanwhile, a section of the Côte de Liesse Autoroute (the 520) heading to the airport in Dorval made Transport Quebec’s list of 135 at-risk overpasses that will be closed to large trucks while the structures are evaluated in the coming months.

Gilbert said the overpasses on Côte de Liesse are slated to be repaired as part of the major overhaul of Dorval Circle that has been under discussion for about a decade now. He said it is an ongoing process, involving the provincial government, the cities of Montreal and Dorval, VIA Rail as well as Aéroports de Montréal, which is proceeding well.

Rouleau, however, said he is greatly disappointed the estimated $200-million Dorval Circle project, which includes a direct link from Highway 20 to Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport, is dragging on too long. He placed the blame for the delay squarely on Quebec.

“Why don’t they at least start Phase 1? The rest can wait two or three years. They still have to make specifications and go to tender before any work can start. We had the BAPE (environmental) hearings over a year ago and they’re still not doing

anything,” he said.

As for Quebec’s list and the state of Montreal overpasses in general, McGill University civil engineering professor Saeed Mirza said there is no reason for the public to panic about the situation. However, he said Quebec — from the government to universities that train engineers — has to rethink from step one how to improve the system so overpasses are built to last and are maintained properly.

“There are certain levels of risks that are acceptable,” he said. “What we need to do is set levels of risk. Does it need extensive repairs or do we need to rebuild it? Some Montreal overpasses may look very bad but they may not pose any risk,” he said, adding the ill-fated de la Concorde overpass in Laval had structural failure due to a design flaw. “In summary, the public needs not to be alarmed (about the list).”

By just looking at surface cracks, you cannot properly assess an overpass, he said. The government is taking the right steps to check overpasses, but the ongoing inspection procedures need to be overhauled, as well as how engineers are trained.

“They have to take into account that all infrastructures will need to last 75 years and maybe provide a maintenance manual like you get when you buy a car,” Mirza said. “Right now, we have a ‘design, build and forget about it’ system.”