The good news is that relief is on the way for the millions of frustrated travellers who use YUL every day. The bad news? It’s probably going to take almost 1,500 days.
Following a summer when some frustrated travellers waited for hours in traffic jams leading to Dorval, the president and CEO of the corporation in charge of YUL, Yves Beauchamp, said it will spend $4 billion on a redesign project that might not be finished until 2028.
“Gridlock on the road leading to Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport last year routinely prompted car passengers to exit their vehicles and haul their bags along the highway off-ramp to the airport, particularly in late afternoon and early evening,” Global News and Canadian Press said.
Improvements will include new pickup and drop-off areas, a new terminal, a connection to Montreal’s REM rail network and new parking lots. The changes will not only help with current congestion, but allow strong growth at one of Canada’s busiest airports.
More projects are planned to be finished by 2035, including a new multi-storey parking garage and more gates at YUL terminals.
“We are engaged in a race. We have four years to be able to welcome four million more people than today,” Beauchamp told attendees in French at a downtown hotel. “We need to add capacity to our welcome infrastructure, both on the land side and on the air side.”
A record 21 million pax passed through YUL last year, up 32% from 2022.
Beauchamp said the new layout will be a long-term solution to the traffic problem.
"We're in a race," he said. "We have four years to be able to welcome four million more people than today."
Beauchamp acknowledged that the construction will cause headaches for people heading to the airport in the coming months and years. But he said it will be necessary to expand the airport to be able to receive more passengers.
