Bonaventure Expressway to be reconfigured into urban boulevard featuring bike path, green space

The Bonaventure Expressway, the section of highway that connects the Samuel de Champlain Bridge to the Port of Montreal, will become an urban boulevard lined with green space and lanes for pedestrians and cyclists along the St. Lawrence River, federal and city officials announced Tuesday.

The reconfiguration of the stretch of Highway 10 will see the roadway moved away from the banks of the St. Lawrence River. In its place, a green corridor will be installed featuring a multi-use pathway and a pedestrian corridor.

"It's going to be a lot nicer and a lot more pleasant," said Pablo Rodriguez, the federal transport minister.

The portion of highway was due to be rebuilt, according to the federal Crown corporation that oversees its management. It is an important link in the city's supply chain, Rodriguez said.

"Bonaventure was built in 1966. I was born in 1967. Some things age better than others," Rodriguez said. "This is going to be a complete transformation… We're going to make it greener, we're going to beautify. It's going to be fun. It's going to be cool."

The project is expected to cost $282 million. It will begin in 2025 and should be completed by 2029, the Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Corporation said in a news release.

The Bonaventure Expressway as it looks today with vehicle traffic lanes along the St. Lawerence River heading into downtown Montreal. (The Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated (JCCBI))

The corporation said it will plant 650 trees, 18,000 shrubs and thousands of perennial flowers and other plants in the green corridor. The new foliage is intended to protect biodiversity in the area and reduce heat islands.

But cars will travel more slowly through the area. The speed limit will be reduced from 70 km/h to 50 km/h and traffic lights will be added.

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante and federal Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez announced the reconfiguration of the Bonaventure Expressway in Montreal Tuesday. (Radio-Canada)

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said the changes will make the roadway better adapted for the 21st century.

"This is a major project that doesn't come up that often, when you think about it," Plante said.

"The idea of reappropriating our shores has always been at the heart of our work, of our aspirations for Montrealers…. We're on an island. We have a mountain in the middle but we're surrounded by water and it's nice to feel it."

A section of the expressway between the Griffintown and Cité Mutimedia neighbourhoods was torn down in 2016 and 2015. It was replaced with green space and an urban boulevard.