Chateauguay construction being monitored
The Kahnawake Peacekeepers and the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake are hoping to avoid a repeat of the traffic overload the territory experienced in the fall because of roadwork in Chateauguay. File Photo
Work has started again near the boundary between Chateauguay and Kahnawake on the project to turn St. Jean Baptiste Boulevard into an “urban boulevard” and realign Industrial and St. Francis Boulevard to form one intersection.
In the fall, this work resulted in heavy traffic forming not just in that area, but also on roads in Kahnawake that motorists tried to use to get around the jam - creating a months-long crisis that caused headaches for residents, the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK), and the Kahnawake Peacekeepers.
For now, that same traffic has not returned, mainly due to the work being more limited in scope and done during off-peak hours - at night and during weekends.
Current work being done includes the widening of Industrial Boulevard, causing it to be a one-way towards St. Jean Baptiste Boulevard until November, and work on the pumping station by the EXO station until the end of May, with one lane being closed towards Kahnawake starting in the last week of April.
“We don’t have the kind of construction going on that was happening then,” said Kyle Zachary, spokesperson for the Peacekeepers.
“It’s not really warranting any special traffic operations.”
Apart from patrolling by the Highway Patrol Division in areas like Route 207 and the Old Chateauguay Road, the only traffic operation currently being done is during rush hour, where a Peacekeeper is posted at the entrance of the 207 from Highway 30 to act as a “red light,” he said.
“They’ll close access for a few minutes, then they’ll let a bunch of cars through, then they’ll stop them again, and they’ll let a few through,” said Zachary.
He also said the addition of the Highway Patrol Division will help the Peacekeepers deal with any traffic problems that may arise in the future without having to pull officers away from other duties, which was one of the big causes for concern in the fall.
“We’re happy with how things are going, but we’re always monitoring the situation, and if it comes to it and something needs to change, we have the ability to change on the fly. Right now, nothing seems to be causing that, so we’re going to continue as normal and hopefully stay that way,” said Zachary.
MCK council chief Arnold Boyer, the lead on the Infrastructure, Transport, and Operations file, said that he has been having regular meetings with the city of Chateauguay and Quebec’s transport ministry (MTMD). Right now, the meetings are monthly, he said, but in the fall, they were weekly, and it may go back to that if need be.
“We voice concerns of what’s happening traffic-wise and other situations that may come about, like business being blocked by traffic,” said Boyer.
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He said that most of the traffic in the next few weeks from work on Industrial Boulevard should be on the Chateauguay side, with trucks having to take a detour route via Highway 132 towards Highway 30.
Work being done at night and off-peak will also help matters, he said.
The completion of the new intersection that links Industrial and St. Francis Boulevards will take place over the summer, with no planned lane closures. All work, including groundskeeping and cleaning of the area, is scheduled to be completed by July 2027, with no major lane closures scheduled.
