Eight-year road closure begins
The section of Docteur-Penfield downtown between McTavish and Pine Avenue is to be closed for repairs for eight years. But this isn’t just road resurfacing. It involves redoing elements of the McTavish reservoir, which serves drinking water to more than a million people.
Blork 11:37 on 2025-08-19 Permalink
EIGHT YEARS! They’d do it over a weekend in China.
Joey 13:07 on 2025-08-19 Permalink
Eight MORE years…
Ian 15:47 on 2025-08-19 Permalink
As I recall that strip was closed twice over the last 8 years, the first time for about 2.5 years and the second for bit more than a year. Since that strip is obviously problematic, I’m kind of surprised it isn’t simply decommissioned as a through road.
Blork 16:47 on 2025-08-19 Permalink
Among other problems, it throws off the route of the 144 bus, which many people use to get from Atwater area to the Plateau (it’s normally quick and very direct as it bypasses Sherbrooke). But in the recent blockages of Penfield the 144 would divert down to crowded Sherbrooke, which basically ruined it and caused even more clogging up of Sherbrooke. Hopefully, if they know that Penfield will be closed FOR LONGER THAN IT TAKES TO GET A B.A., M.A., AND A PhD they’ll come up with a better plan, like sending it up Peel and turning that bit of Pine between Peel and Penfield into two-way traffic.
Blork 16:51 on 2025-08-19 Permalink
Duh. I just saw the video on the CityNews piece, and that’s exactly what they’re going to do (turn that bit of Pine into two-way to let cars and presumably buses divert around the top of the reservoir instead of going down to Sherbrooke).
Nicholas 16:52 on 2025-08-19 Permalink
At least one of the previous closures was to prepare for this work, which is to prepare for the actual work. I get this is a mission critical facility that can’t be fully shut down ever. I don’t think anyone here has any idea what is reasonable for a project that will end up taking nearly a quarter century, but that is a long, long time.
It would be neat to turn that part of Doctor Penfield into an extension of the park and open up the campus from that side. It’s clear that drivers have survived during all the previous work. Maybe it’ll happen. But there will be complaints, just like with Camilien Houde.
Ian 17:48 on 2025-08-19 Permalink
I suspect far less so, as CH is access to the mountain and this is just access to a curve around the reservoir that we mostly haven’t had traffic on on and off over the last 10 years already and doesn’t actually provide any advantage over just going up Peel.
That aside, I am on the same page as you in that I htink this would be an easy opportunity to open up the area to pedestrian traffic like the rest of the campus.
Andrew 09:45 on 2025-08-20 Permalink
I was more curious about the water infrastructure, here’s the overview of why from the city. There’s some pictures of the pipes from 1928 which are riveted construction, I didn’t realize we only started welding pipes in the 30s.
https://ville.montreal.qc.ca/documents/Adi_Public/CE/CE_DA_ORDI_2020-06-10_08h30_Station_de_Pompage_McTavish.pdf
This is one of the earlier phases Ian mentioned, it has a really good picture of the wall of the reservoir underground
https://cwa-mecaniquedeprocede.com/en/projet/mctavish-pump-station-upgrade/
Mostly the landscaping plan, but I like the section view of the reservoir
https://provencherroy.ca/en/projects/brouillon-mctavish-reservoir/
Kate 15:05 on 2025-08-20 Permalink
Great links, Andrew – thanks!