JOHN JANTAK
The 1510 West
The traffic spillover from the closure of the Pitfield bridges adjacent to Highway 13 in Pierrefonds-Roxboro almost two weeks ago has almost tripled the volume of vehicles on smaller streets in the area, and in particular on Sunnybrooke Blvd. in Dollard des Ormeaux. And there is no clear idea on how long the situation will last.
“The closure of both the northbound and southbound spans is affecting us in two ways,” said Dollard Mayor Alex Bottausci.
“Sunnybrooke is already heavily used because it’s a collector road, and we probably have between 2,500 to 3,500 cars going on it on any given day. Now, we’re looking at within the last week, there are maybe 8,000 to 10,000 vehicles going down that boulevard,” Bottausci said.
“The boulevard was built for heavier traffic, but now there’s 10-wheelers and 18-wheelers using the road. If you continue to pound the hell out of it, who’s going to pay me for that when it’s time to rebuild? These are my concerns.” he said.
The two bridges were closed by the City of Montreal on May 31 as a preventive measure after “serious cracks” were detected in an overpass that allows access to Highway 13 from Pierrefonds-Roxboro.
The structures span Betrand Creek, linking Gouin Blvd. and Henri Bourassa Blvd. on either side of Highway 13. Montreal has not said how long repairs could take. It simply said the routes have been closed “indefinitely,” according to an updated statement issued June 7.
“If it’s question of a few weeks to a couple of months, that’s one thing,” Bottausci said. “The indication we’re getting is that the solution is undetermined. We still don’t have any news on what the next plan is, what they want to do and how are we going to control this in the longer term if we have to.”
“It was just as if a bomb was dropped on us: ‘Here you go, you deal with it,’ ” he said.
The closures and detours have significantly increased the time it takes motorists to access Highway 13 north from Highway 40.
“People heading north in the morning now have to take a detour,” Bottausci said. “This changes the pattern, which puts you in more traffic rather than less, which is what they were trying to avoid in the first place.”