Island’s entry and exit points: ramp to highway 15 north opens in November

This was announced by Borough Director Gilles Baril in line with the redevelopment of the island’s entry and exit points. The new ramp will no longer require drivers to pass under the viaduct of Clément Bridge to get to highway 15 northbound. The new access lane will also allow drivers to merge into traffic in much safer conditions. The ramp’s final approach is on a raised level which ensures better visibility for drivers, allowing them to accelerate in time to connect to the highway. Presently, drivers have to slow down considerably and even have to stop often to let vehicles coming from Champlain Bridge pass.

Mr. Baril was accompanied by engineers Jean Cardin and Jean-François Côté to present this news. Borough Mayor Claude Trudel also participated in this meeting and took the opportunity to express his satisfaction with the quick execution of the work. Engineer Côté stated that it will probably take until next year to re-open the access ramp to the island for vehicles coming from the Bonaventure expressway. This phase of the work will be completed in the course of summer 2010 during which the final layers of asphalt, markings and landscaping will be installed.

The redesign of the entry and exit points in L'île des Soeurs started in September 2007 and will be completed in 2010. The opening of the access ramp to highway 15 north constitutes the 10th phase of the work and like the works preceding it, will be finished at the anticipated deadline date. The entire project was moved ahead of schedule by about a year, due to the Bell-Canderel project and would have cost a total of almost $47 million. According to the engineers, the road infrastructure will satisfy the expected needs of the population of L'Île-des-Soeurs in terms of its development. Verdun Borough is overseeing these works, the costs of which are being defrayed by the City of Montreal. For their part, the Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated (JCCBI) invested almost $13 million in this project.