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Montreal subway line reopens after crews shore up street

Last Updated: Monday, August 27, 2007 | 12:05 AM ET

CBC News

Montreal's subway system was fully operational Sunday night after cracks in a tunnel discovered two days ago prompted the closure of a major line and a downtown shopping district.

Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay said Sunday evening it took \Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay said Sunday evening it took "remarkable teamwork" over the past few days to ensure the area was secure.
(Peter McCabe/Canadian Press)

On Friday, a seven-block perimeter of downtown Montreal was cordoned off, buildings were evacuated and part of a subway line was closed after two fissures were spotted in a tunnel that linked the McGill Métro station to the landmark Bay department store and malls.

By early Sunday, people had been allowed back into some of the area, but much of it remained closed and the Métro's Green line stayed shuttered between the Berri-UQAM and Lionel-Groulx stations for much of Sunday.

Mayor Gérald Tremblay said Sunday evening it took "remarkable teamwork" over the past few days to ensure the area was secure.

"I want to congratulate our team, which worked in a very, very short period to stabilize the situation," Tremblay told the French language all-news channel LCN. "All is secure, which was our first priority."

The block of de Maisonneuve Boulevard where the cracks were found will stay closed to vehicles, but will be open to pedestrians, he said. All businesses in the area will re-open Monday, he said.

City officials weren't so sure earlier in the day. But engineers and public works crews used about 1,000 posts to reinforce the sagging concrete under de Maisonneuve Boulevard. The posts were put together in a criss-cross structure that looked similar to scaffolding.

"All the structures you see here are assembled outside the danger zone for the safety of the workers and pushed under the slab in a way that will ensure complete support," said Yves Provost, the city manager in charge of infrastructure.

He said special equipment to measure how the temporary structure handles the vibrations caused by the subway will be used.

Problems were first spotted around 1:30 p.m. ET Friday, when employees working in the basement of the Bay department store on Maisonneuve Boulevard noticed water leaking from the ceiling, which had dropped a few centimetres.

The Bay and the Promenades Cathédrale underground shopping mall were among several areas that were evacuated.

with files from the Canadian Press

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