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Unleashing the Potential of OneCRH
Demix Contributes to Making Vibrant Communities
Montreal is a cyclist-friendly city with a vast network of paths that can take you all over town, through parks and along the river, as well as through its many different neighbourhoods. According to the city, its bike path network is more extensive than most other major Canadian cities and cycling is expected to account for 15 per cent of transit within the next 10 years.
In order to further encourage cycling, Montreal is developing an extensive Express Bike Network (EBN) which includes 184 kilometres of bike paths across the entire island of Montreal, including 17 paths that will be accessible year- round. Neighbourhood cycle paths connect into the EBN, making it the backbone of Montreal’s cycling network.
Paving the way for
increased cycling
In the fall of 2020, Demix Construction literally helped pave the way for the EBN along the St-Denis Street axis by providing the aggregates, concrete, asphalt and paving services as a subcontractor for the creation of a crucial 4-km stretch from Jean-Talon Street all the way to Roy Street,
crossing two city boroughs along the way (Rosemont and Le Plateau).
The permanent bike lane was brought to life in record time in an extremely densely populated and high-traffic area, and amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The project also faced its fair share of media coverage as a high- profile project. But nothing distracted the team from executing the project safely, efficiently and on time. The work kicked off in early September and was completed without interruption by the end of October, all while following strict COVID-19 protocols – with a crew that reached over 40 team members at any
Demix Construction has played a key role in bringing to fruition infrastructure critical to the functioning of our communities – from international airport tarmacs, to major highway systems. But bike paths are a somewhat newer field of expertise as the trend of making these permanent increases, as is the case in Montreal.
It’s all in the details
Permanent cycling infrastructure must be adapted to accommodate and coexist with other road users. For this particular job, the first step was extensive waterworks to upgrade the sewer systems. This was followed by electrical work for the placement of traffic lights. Thirdly, small concrete islands or ‘bollards’ were installed at each intersection
thereby creating a separation between various users at intersections, while also accommodating buses and ensuring that transit users can safely step off and onto buses at various stops. Finally, the stretch of road also had to be repaved with new asphalt, carefully paved.
The St-Denis stretch of the EBN, dubbed “a highway for bikes”, was officially inaugurated on November 9, 2020, at which time Mayor of Montreal Valérie Plante stated that the day before, over 4,000 cyclists had used it on what was a particularly warm and sunny fall day in Montreal. Congratulations to the Demix Construction team for executing this project safely and in record time!
given time. 20 | THE CONVEYOR | December 2020