New Turcot Interchange already covered in graffiti, but authorities say little can be done about it

Montreal tour guide Carlos Moradisays when he picks visitors up from the airport and drives them along Highway 20, they noticethe amount of graffiti on the new Turcot Interchange.

"The graffitishocks them," said Moradi. He feelsthe graffiti takes away from the city's beauty and gives the wrong impression to newcomers.

Construction on the new Turcot Interchange is expected to wrap up around 2020, but the $3.67-billion construction project has already become a haven for graffiti artists and taggers.

"Many tourists associate the graffiti tags with crime," Moradi said. "If millions of dollars have been spent on the new Turcot, why can't the government invest more to clean the graffiti?"

MTQ spends thousands on removing graffiti

TransportsQubec says it spends between$50,000 and$80,000 annually removing graffiti from structures in the greater Montreal area.

Graffiti on the new Turcot Interchange is removed everysummer, saidGilles Payer, a spokesperson for TransportsQubec.

Payeracknowledged that some people aren't happy with the way the graffiti looks, but said that it is "part of the urban reality."

Once construction on the Turcot is completed, he says, trees and bushes will be planted to make the graffiti less visible.

But some areas of the new Turcot aredifficult for workers to access, such as the walls near the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC). Cleaningthe graffiti there more often would becostly, he said.

"Everyone knows that if we come to clean the graffiti, it will be there the next day," Payer said. He added thathateful graffiti receives priority attention and is usually removed within a week.

Eyesore or art?

Leading figures in Montreal's graffiti community agree that it will be difficult for authorities to stop people from tagging the concrete.

"Laws are already in placeto crack down on graffiti, but thepolice can't be everywhere," said Sterling Downey, a city councillor for Verdun andco-founder ofthe Under Pressure Graffiti Festival.

"The people who are doing itknow it is illegal. They know the consequences. It's a roll of the dice."

Downey says not all graffiti is created equal, and notedthat somefamous Montreal artists began their careers in the streets.

"There is an evolution.People start in the streetsand, at that time, [their work]might be seen as an eyesore. And then today, they do revered murals."

If people don't want to see graffiti on the new Turcot, he says, they should lobby theprovincial government to spend more money cleaning it.

But, he added, there isa reason why graffiti always comes back, no matter how often it's removed.

"Graffiti taggers do it for the visibility and for the fame," he said. "Graffiti artists do it for the recognition amongtheir peers, who recognize their tags."