A key route for West Islanders to access Highway 13 has been shut down indefinitely by the City of Montreal.
After an inspection, alarming cracks were discovered on the Pitfield bridges. Now, many West Islanders are frustrated and a pair of local mayors are blasting city authorities for the way the situation is being handled.
“I’m going to Laval today, but I just saw that this is closed, so, I don’t know how I’m going to do it,” said motorist Soneo Singh.
His experience was one that has played out countless times since the closure. Heading east on Gouin, Singh signaled to take a right turn onto the Pitfield Bridge toward Highway 13, then suddenly realized he couldn’t take the usual route. The same thing happened to Carlos Soto.
“I’m very upset. I’m very upset with this government,” the driver said. He was far from the only one to curse the closure or make an animated hand gesture at the wheel upon discovering it.
The twin bridges connect Gouin Boulevard with Henri Bourassa, and allow people to get on and off of Highway 13 from the northern tip of the island.
On Friday night, the city announced the 50-year-old structures will be closed indefinitely due to growing cracks.
“There are more cracks than there used to be, and the cracks are bigger and longer,” explained City of Montreal spokesperson Philippe Sabourin.
Sabourin says all city-managed bridges are inspected every year, but they get a detailed look every four years. That’s when the problem was found.
Officials initially just closed one lane on each span to lighten the load, but the decision was made to close the bridges completely.
“Better safe than sorry,” said Sabourin.
He says the closure will last at least a week as teams take samples and assess the true state of the infrastructure.
“It’s absolute chaos,” said Pierrefonds-Roxboro Mayor Jim Beis, adding this will make it much harder for residents of his borough to get downtown and to Laval. He’s upset he found out about the closure at the last minute from the City of Montreal.
“I’d like to think that they know what they’re doing, but all we have to do is go through Montreal to see the terrible chaos that we’re living with in terms of infrastructure work that is not well coordinated,” said Beis.
Making matters even more complicated, there are several other construction sites in the area. Sabourin acknowledged the closure will cause a “tough ride” for citizens.
The city is proposing people go west on Gouin, then take Sunnybrooke through Dollard des Ormeaux (DDO) to Highway 40 and catch the 13 from there.
“I think it’s going to be a disaster,” said DDO Mayor Alex Bottausci.
Bottausci is furious because he says he had no advance notice that thousands more cars would be funneled through his residential suburb. He has major concerns about what will happen during rush hour.
“This is complete disrespect from the administration of Montreal. You know, if you need one of my roads, collaborate with us,” he said, accusing city leadership of having “disregard and disrespect” for the West Island.
People using the ramps hope at least that “indefinite” tag will be removed soon, so they can get an idea of when their regular commute will be back.
