Montreal mayor stands by Turcot interchange vision

In a rare sign of unity, opposition parties and de-merged municipalities joined Montreal Mayor Grald Tremblay in criticizing the provincial government's rejection of the city'sproposal to revampthe Turcot interchange.

Accompanied by the leaders of both opposition parties and Westmount Mayor Peter Trent, Tremblay said he was "extremely disappointed" with the decision announced Thursday by Transport Minister Julie Boulet.

"We are speaking now as a united voice, Montreal east and west, and I think the government should seriously reconsider their position," said Tremblay.

'We think that our project responds to the needs of the population,' Julie Boulet, Quebec transport minister

The province's original $1.5-billion plan to rebuild the aging interchange, located at the confluenceof highways 15 and 20/720 in south-central Montreal, has been criticized by local politicians and community groups.

During public hearings before Quebec's environmental assessment board last spring, concerns were expressed about the proposal, originally submitted in 2007,which called for an increase invehicle traffic and the expropriation ofroughly 160 housing units.

Theplan was also criticized for notcontaining any firm commitment to additional public transit.

Tremblay said the alternate proposal released by the city on Wednesdayhad addressed those issues.

"It is not only a transport plan; it is about much more than that," said Tremblay. "We are talking about the quality of life of our citizens."

The city's plan, which was lauded by environmental groups and municipal opposition parties, calls for a smaller structure than the one put forward by the province.

The proposal would cut the number of lanes from four to two in the east-west axis. A third lane would be reserved for public transit. Unlike the province's plan, the city's proposal does not require the expropriation of residential properties.

It also calls for the creation of a new park and residential area along the St. Jacques escarpment and the construction of a new tramway.

The transport minister has indicated that the government has made changes to its project, but the details have not been made public.

Proposal too costly, complicated: minister

Following a meeting with Tremblay on Thursday, Boulet said the city's vision for the interchange was simply too expensive and would take too long to build.

The minister says the city's proposal would cost between $4 billion and 6 billion and would not be completed before 2022 while the province aims to complete construction by 2017.

There is a need to move quickly because the 43-year old structure is reaching the end of its life, said Boulet.

'I think she must show more respect to municipal officials and towards people who will have to tolerate this project for many years,' PQ transport critic Stphane Bergeron

"We think that our project responds to the needs of the population, and it costs between $2 and 2.5 billion," she said.

Though the government is willing to incorporate some of the city's suggestions, Boulet said one major problem with the proposal is that the interchange in it iselevated whereas in the province's plan, it's at ground level.

"That represents maintenance costs in the medium and long term that are quite big for us," said Boulet. "In Quebec, structures are difficult to maintain. We have rigorous winters with periods of freezing and thawing.

"The first objective of building the interchange on the ground level was to reduce the number of elevated structures."

Minister urged to release figures

But, Tremblay questioned the minister's numbers.

"We don't want to give the impression that money is not important and time is not of the essence, but can we see the numbers?" he said. "No one knows how much the government's plan is going to cost, so give us the numbers."

The opposition Parti Qubcois also demanded that the minister release the details of her revised proposal.

Transport critic Stphane Bergeron was critical of the minister who, he said, has been inflexible despite Montrealers' concerns about the project.

"I think she must show more respect to municipal officials and towards people who will have to tolerate this project for many years," Bergeron said. "It is true that the government is paying for the project, but there are people on the ground who will have to pay for it as well."

The minister says she will present her own final plan soon.