Public hearings on rebuilding Turcot get underway

Residents around Montreal's Turcot Interchangewill get a chance to learn more about the controversial refurbishment project.

Quebec's public consultation office is holding an information meeting Monday night about the province's $1.5-billion plan to rebuild the aginginterchange.

More than 280,000 cars daily use the Turcot Interchange, which connects Highways 20, 720 and 15.

Transport Quebec's plan to tear down and rebuild the busy highway interchange would see several hundred homes expropriated in and around St. Henri.

Community groups have already banded together to protest the plan. Hundreds of protesters climbed up the Atwater exit of the VilleMarie expressway Sunday afternoon.

"Who would want to have a highway built over their heads? Nobody," said environmentalist Daniel Breton. "It was a huge historical mistake 40 years ago, and now we're on our way to making the same mistake again."

Some residents are concerned about how the province will handle the project. "I'm not against them doing it," said Kylie Bloomfield, who lives on Galt Street, underneath the interchange. "But do it right, so that the people who live around it are in a good environment."

Bloomfield said she hopes to see more public transit included in the highway plan.

"We are at the time of choices, and we hope the government will take the good one," said Andr Porlier, head of the Montreal Regional Council on the Environment. "That would be the [choice] that will remove cars."

The plan also involves tearing down several nearby highway structures, including the La Vrendrye, Angrignon and Montreal West exchanges.

Monday night's hearing is at 7:30 p.m. ET at the Centre rcratif, culturel et sportif Saint-Zotique, in the Sir-Georges-Etienne-Cartier Square.

Another meeting is planned for Tuesday night at the Buffet Il Gabbiano on Lapierre Street in the LaSalle borough.