A Quebec Superior Court judge has approved a settlement of up to $3.5 million for a group of people living near the Ville-Marie Expressway, who were impacted during major repair work being carried out between 1998 and 2000.
The class action concerns anyone living within 350 metres south and 170 metres north of the Ville-Marie, between Guy St. and de Carillon Ave., during that period.
Those affected — up to 12,000 people — have until May 28 to file a claim for compensation by filling out an online form.
The suit was launched by Peter Krantz, a Westmount resident, who filed suit against Quebec's attorney-general and the three construction companies involved in the project. At a news conference on Tuesday, he likened the round-the-clock construction noise to that made by jet engines — a noise he described as "beyond human endurance".
The institution of the suit has prompted some changes in the way large-scale construction projects are carried out in residential areas — for instance, the erection of permanent sound barriers along highways, as well as the erection of temporary sound barriers while contruction work is happening.
Krantz says, however, that workers currently carrying out the Turcot interchange rebuild could still do a better job of keeping the noise down.