Project overview

The Port of Montreal's rail network currently has close to 100 km of track to serve the fourteen terminals. Each year, it transports 2,500 km of railcars.

Project works include:

  • Installation of 6 km of additional railroad tracks and switches
  • Complementary work to develop the internal rail network.
  • Relocation of the Port Road

Project timeline

May 2017

$18.3 million in financial support from the Government of Quebec under its Maritime Strategy

April 2018

$18.4 million in financial support from the Government of Canada to optimize its intermodal network under the National Trade Corridor Fund.

June 2018

Awarding of the mandate to increase rail capacity to the firm CIMA+.

2019

  • Project design and planning phase
  • Field studies (noise, dust, fauna, flora and traffic)

2020

  • Integration and verification of plans and specifications
  • Finalization of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

As sustainability is at the core of the MPA's business processes, the project team identified several measures that will make it possible to improve the project on this front. They include:

  • Optimization of reuse of excavated soil as backfill (so that it is not necessary to move the soil by truck)
  • Use of recycled concrete in the foundation of the new Port Road
  • Use of recycled paving on the new Port Road
  • Composite railroad ties made of recycled plastic
 

2021

Construction tender process

Phase 1: sections 39 to 44 (between Alphonse D. Roy Street ans Bourbonnière Avenue)

  • Preparatory work
  • Sewer and aqueduct 
  • Piling 
  • Retaining wall 
  • Electrical work 
  • Railroad construction 
  • Pavement work
 

2022

Phase 2: sections 32 to 39 (between Jacques Cartier Bridge and Davidson Street)

  • Preparatory work (March)
  • Sewer and aqueduct (April to July)
  • Piling (April to June)
  • Retaining wall (May to October)
  • Electrical work (April to December)
  • Railroad construction (May to July)
  • Pavement work (September and October)

2023

Phase 3: sections 24 to 32 (between Jacques Cartier Bridge and Atateken Street)

  • Preparatory work 
  • Sewer and aqueduct 
  • Retaining wall 
  • Electrical work 
  • Railroad construction
  • Pavement work

projet optimisation carte fr

 

Mitigation measures

Once the Environmental Effects Evaluation is completed, the Montreal Port Authority team expects that the construction work will not have notable impacts on cohabitation with the adjacent neighbourhoods.

However, to avoid impacts on the surrounding population, mitigation measures have been included in the project and will be closely monitored and adjusted as needed. A resource person is specifically assigned to carry out this monitoring as part of the project. Here are some of the planned mitigation measures:

  • Limit work at night (from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.), including deliveries of equipment or materials
  • Institute a sound management program and monitor noise levels during construction, including spot monitoring of the noise climate at the start of new phases or at the peak of the project works
  • Require that all vehicles and moving equipment are equipped with broadband (white noise) back-up alarms, subject to compliance with safety standards
  • Take all necessary precautions to limit the general noise level by ensuring optimal operating and maintenance conditions of the equipment used, including maintenance of the exhaust system of all vehicles or equipment
  • Thoroughly maintain the paved roads used by trucks and, as needed, use appropriate dust suppressants on the unpaved roads
  • Cover all granular material stored on site
  • Keep damp during operations any materials likely to emit particles (excavation and earthmoving, demolition, crushing, conveying, loading, etc.)