Bonaventure Expressway Reconfiguration Project

Built between 1965 and 1967, the Bonaventure Expressway is reaching the end of its service life. The Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated (JCCBI) is going to completely reconfigure this sector into a boulevard to address its changing uses particularly in terms of traffic flow, active mobility and the transport of goods.

Along with providing public access to the banks of the St. Lawrence River, the planned reconfiguration will include redeveloping the shoreline and optimizing the site's environmental management while allowing safe and efficient travel for all users. This project will better meet the needs of the community and improve the local environment for residents. The project also includes the creation of a green corridor and dedicated active mobility lanes, which the area currently lacks.

The integration of Carrie-Derick Street is also part of the Bonaventure Expressway reconfiguration and will involve acquiring a strip of land from the City of Montreal in order to move the traffic lanes away from the shoreline and build a green corridor along the river with an area of over 80,000 m² that stretches nearly 2.5 km. This green corridor will include a new 4 m-wide bicycle path as well as a separate pedestrian path. On the opposite side of the boulevard, there will also be a sidewalk along the traffic lanes toward the Samuel-De Champlain Bridge.

Reconfiguring this road corridor into a boulevard will transform this important gateway to downtown Montreal while maintaining the components of good traffic flow for both people and goods. The integration of Carrie-Derick Street into the new boulevard and the major increase of vegetated surfaces will reduce heat islands in the reconfigured area by approximately 40%. 

This area also has contamination issues since it was used as a landfill for industrial and domestic waste for 100 years until 1966. The reconfiguration of this road infrastructure is therefore an opportunity to address environmental issues specific to this site. JCCBI will use this project as an opportunity to optimize environmental management in the sector by developing a risk management strategy based on different environmental intervention measures, particularly groundwater management.

The project also includes a landscaping strategy to create a transition from the boulevard to the St. Lawrence River that is both aesthetically pleasing and functional. Over 650 new trees and 18,000 shrubs will be planted to substantially increase the area's amount of canopy, which currently is almost non-existent. A diversity of native plants will enhance both biodiversity and vegetation resilience in light of urban stress and changing environmental conditions at the site.

The project also includes measures to protect brown snakes, such as a microhabitat and corridors to allow this species to move around safely. 

This major project is scheduled to be carried out between 2025 and 2029.

The reconfiguration of the Bonaventure Expressway is part of JCCBI's mission to help users get where they need to go and ensure the safety and longevity of our infrastructure by applying systemic management based on a sustainable development approach.

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Latest update

November  30, 2023 – The public comment period on the project is closed. The Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated is considering comments received to help inform its determination on whether the carrying out of the project is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects.

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Key documents

Key documents
Document Number Document Title File Date
1 Bonaventure Expressway Reconfiguration Project - December 19, 2023

Contacts

The Jacques Cartier Champlain Bridges Incorporated
Philippe Larouche, Environment Lead
1225, Saint-Charles W. Suite 500
Longueuil, Quebec J4K 0B9
Telephone: 450-651-8771
Fax: 450-677-6912
Email: edd@pjcci.ca


  • Location

    • Montreal (Quebec)

  • Nature of Activity

    • Highways and Roads

  • Assessment Status

    In progress

  • Start Date

    2023-10-23

  • Proponent

    The Jacques Cartier Champlain Bridges Incorporated

  • Authorities

    • Jacques-Cartier Champlain Bridges

  • Assessment Type

    Project on federal lands

  • Reference Number

    86035
Disclaimer

This map is for illustrative purposes. The markers represent the approximate locations based on available data. More than one marker may be identified for a given assessment.

 

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...within 200 kilometres
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