ESCaPe FrOM N.D.G.

ANDY RIGa GAZETTE TRANSPORTATION REPORTER

Transport Quebec and the city of Montreal are hemming in Notre-Dame-de-Grce, depriving it of key east-west routes. This map shows a few alternative ways residents can get to and from downtown. As part of the Turcot Interchange project, Transport Quebec has permanently closed the St-

Jacques St. ramp to the Ville-Marie Expressway . Starting March 17, the city will be doing major sewer work on Sherbrooke, shutting most of the street for weeks. Then, in April, Transport Quebec will completely close a crucial stretch of St-Jacques for two years. About 8,000 vehicles used the ramp daily . Almost four times that many use the affected section of St-Jacques. And 25,000 rely on Sherbrooke.

Desperate drivers will be looking for new routes, including ones through St-Henri and Westmount. Authorities hope a planned new reserved bus lane along Sherbrooke St. in N.D.G. will lure at least some drivers to public transit.

ariga@montrealgazette.com Twitter: @andyriga Facebook: AndyRigaMontreal

A MaP OF aLTERNaTIVE ROUTES

15

15
Dcarie way Express

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NOTRE-DAME-DE-GRCE/ CTE-DES-NEIGES 2
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PROBLEM SPOTS
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DaWN LeMIeUX aND JeaNINe Lee /THe Gazette

PROBLEM SPOTS
A
CLOSED: Permanently, as of March 3

CLOSED: For two years, starting in April

CLOSED: Dcarie at de Maisonneuve/Upper Lachine

LANES CLOSED: Sherbrooke St.

The ramp links St-Jacques St. to the Ville-Marie Expressway eastbound. Access to the Ville-Marie from N.D.G. will return at an unknown later date, via an on-ramp from Pullman St.

St-Jacques St., between Dcarie Blvd. and Girouard Ave., will be demolished. The road over the Dcarie Expressway must be rebuilt to accommodate the design of the new Turcot Interchange.

Closed since 2011, the new underpass is almost complete but work on the final part of the project has been delayed by corruption checks on bidders. Its unclear when it will reopen.

From March 17 to about April 28, Sherbrooke St. will be down to only one westbound lane, between Northcliffe and Grey Aves. Then, for about four weeks, it will have one lane in each direction. Normally, Sherbrooke has six lanes.

ALTERNATIVE ROUTES
DRIVING
1
Sherbrooke St. to downtown

TRANSIT
5
Girouard to Highway 20 west to Highway 20 east to the Ville-Marie east

cYcling
1
de Maisonneuve Blvd. bike path
Connects N.D.G. to downtown, via Westmount. It runs between West Broadway St. in N.D.G. and Berri St. in downtown Montreal. Note: cyclists complain the section near the Vendme mtro is a danger zone because of the large number of buses, taxis and pedestrians in the area.
compiled bY andY riga

Vendme mtro/train station

When its open, take Sherbrooke St. through Westmount to reach downtown. Expect bottlenecks around Dcarie, in Westmount and downtown. In N.D.G., Sherbrooke is used by about 25,000 vehicles daily.

Cte-St-Luc Rd. to Dcarie to Ville-Marie

A long way around, this adds several kilometres to a trip. Take recently reopened Girouard Ave. access to the Dcarie south and get on Highway 20 west. Take it to Angrignon Blvd., then loop around to Highway 20 east.

From here, the mtros Orange Line and three AMT commuter train lines serve downtown.

Montreal West train station

Make your way to Cte-St-Luc Rd. and Dcarie Blvd., an area already congested at rush hour. Take the Dcarie Expressway south to the Ville-Marie Expressway east.

Via Dorchester and RenLvesque Blvds.

This station is served by three commuter lines Vaudreuil-Hudson, St-Jrme and Candiac. All go to Lucien-LAllier, downtown.

Take de Maisonneuve Blvd., SteCatherine St., Dorchester Blvd. and Ren-Lvesque Blvd.

Lucien-LAllier train station

Dcarie Blvd. to StJacques to downtown

Highway 20, via Angrignon Blvd.

Trains from this station stop at Vendme and Montreal West stations.

A circuitous route. Take Upper Lachine Rd. to Crowley Ave. to Dcarie Blvd. to St-Jacques St., then make your way downtown.

Go east on Highway 20 via Angrignon Blvd. to reach downtown, or get off westbound Highway 20 if coming from downtown.

Snowdon mtro

Transit users from N.D.G. can make their way here via the 51 bus.

Greene Ave. on ramp to the Ville-Marie east

Take the 105 or 420 bus

Make your way to this on-ramp in St-Henri via Glen Rd. in Westmount, for example to reach the Ville-Marie east.

A reserved bus lane is to be put in place on Sherbrooke St. soon to speed up the 105 and 420 buses. The 105 runs between Elmhurst Ave. and Vendme mtro. The 420 goes between Cte-St-Luc Rd./Westminster Ave. and downtown Montreal.