Île Mercier bridge closed due to rising waters
Posted May 3, 2023 11:13 am.
Last Updated May 3, 2023 6:32 pm.
The residents of a 37-house community on Île-Bizard lost their direct access off island Tuesday night when Montreal’s civil security shut down the Île Mercier bridge.
The decision came as rising river water reached the structure.
“They don’t want to take any chances when they see water flooding across the bridge,” said Ile-Bizard–Sainte-Genevieve borough Mayor Stéphane Côté.
“With the protection measure we had in prevention a few weeks ago, it’s working actually, probably with minor damages. So, so far, so good.”
#WATCH: Montreal’s civil security shut down the Île Mercier bridge on Tuesday night – it connects to Île-Bizard. The decision came as rising river water reached the structure.
READ MORE: https://t.co/3Yfwz3dRNI
Video credit: Matt Tornabene, CityNews pic.twitter.com/JlXz7i7mkC— CityNews Montreal (@CityNewsMTL) May 3, 2023
Montreal police (SPVM) and firefighters were on site Wednesday to help locals navigate the area, but no vehicles or pedestrians could pass over the bridge.
It has left residents there isolated. Anyone who wants to leave is asked to call 311.
“They are staying put, they’re still there,” said Côté. “And they can come by water by themselves if they want to get out of the island. But the services or emergency services are not shuttle services.
“If they want to leave, the fire department will come and get them out. But they won’t get in after.”
No homes in the 37-house community were flooded, and no evacuation order was put in place.
“There’s a lot of places that are wet, but pretty much all the houses are protected,” said the mayor. “They were in prevention at first, so there’s a water pump there, another one in backup. So actually it’s doing a great job. Maybe as we’re talking, maybe there’s some small damages, but I haven’t heard of it yet.”
Montreal emergency services said the decision was made to shut the Île Mercier bridge after consulting with engineers, who felt it was the safest course of action.
Said Albatnigi, who was visiting friends in the area, told CityNews it’s not uncommon to see flooding at this time of year.
“My friends live two streets away from here,” Albatnigi said. “And it’s not the first time that there’s floods. We had the first floods in 2017, and the other one was in 2019.
“But they just said they’re OK for now because they protected their house and everything. But I hope it’s going to stay like that for them.”
Chemin de l’Anse a l’Orme in Kirkland was also closed as water levels from the Rivière à l’Orme rose. It’s a tributary of Lake of Two Mountains.
Montreal has seen no major flooding so far and officials said Wednesday morning that it is not an emergency situation.
More rain is in the forecast Wednesday, as well as a chance of more showers come Thursday. Dryer and warmer temperatures are coming Friday through to the start of next week.
Côté expects water levels to start dropping as of Friday.
—With files from Alyssia Rubertucci
