Dust, noise from Turcot Interchange rankles residents

Montrealers who live near the TurcotInterchange are calling on the Quebec Transport Ministry to do more to reduce the level of noise and dust in the area.

At a meeting Monday evening, residents got together to discuss how the construction site is affecting their lives and their health.

"Dust and noise are the big ones,"saidSteve Charters, a community organizer with the NDG Community Council, one of the groups that organized the meeting.

The community councils of Saint-Henri andVille-mard/Cte-St-Paulare also involved.

ValrieLacombe moved to St-Henri two years ago. She said she's never seen the dust as bad as it's been this past month.

"If you walk around, you can taste the dust in your mouth and you see big clouds of dust in the air and I don't feel comfortable opening my windows," Lacombe said.

"The worst day that's it's beenso farwas on May 5,where you can see white particles in the air and even just to walk down the street, I didn'tfeel safe to breathe the air even through my shirt.I felt I had to stay inside to protect my health."

Lacombe said she's filed several complaints with the Quebec Transport Ministry. She said all she's receivedso far is a voucher for a car wash.

"Theysaid that they're doing everything that they can, but they never talk about the health of the citizens."

Ministry taking measures

The transport ministry says several measures are in place to try to minimize the dust levels.

For instance, water cannons are used when structures are being demolished and some trucks are used to clean nearby neighbourhood streets, including two tanker trucks and a broom truck.

Quebec Transport Ministry spokesperson Martin Girard said May 5 was particularly dusty because of the weather conditions.

"There was a lot of wind that weekend, so a lot of dust was in the area and in the streets around the workplace," Girard said.

Residentsare invited to call theministry at 514-873-1372 to file complaints when dust or noise levels rise.

The new TurcotInterchange is slated to be finished by the end of 2020.