Community leaders west of the Island of Montreal are gathering together to demand that a missing seven-kilometre stretch of Highway 20 be completed to improve traffic flow in the area. “It is unacceptable that in Quebec in 2026, such a strategic piece of infrastructure remains unfinished,” said Patrick Bousez, warden of the MRC de Vaudreuil-Soulanges and mayor of Rivière-Beaudette. The group, including elected officials from 23 municipalities, business leaders and residents, says it’s been waiting for the project to be completed since the 1960s. “Back in 1964, the Quebec government expropriated families and merchants to complete Highway 20,” said Paul Dumoulin, mayor of Vaudreuil-Dorion. “Sixty years later, the land still belongs to it, but the project has not been built. This unfinished state has left a scar and, to this day, continues to create significant problems for our population and our development.” They point out that each year, more than 21.5 million vehicles travel on the thoroughfare - an average of 64,000 a day, with freight trucks accounting for one in ten users. The group notes that in the municipalities of Vaudreuil-Dorion and Île Perrot, Highway 20 turns into an urban boulevard “punctuated by ten traffic lights, even though it is one of the main road corridors between Montreal and Toronto.” “The 23 municipalities of the MRC speak with one voice, and the Ministry of Transport has reached the same conclusion: an uninterrupted highway is the way forward,” said Bousez. The group says it is now appealing to all the provincial political parties to address the issue ahead of the Oct. 5 election and to include the project in the next Quebec Infrastructure Plan (PQI). “Doing nothing is not free. The status quo is already costing us $1.1 billion over 20 years in congestion and missed opportunities,” said Danie Deschênes, president of Développement Vaudreuil-Soulanges (DEV), mayor of Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot and representative of the mayors of Île Perrot. ”We are already paying for this highway without reaping its benefits. The studies are done, the land is publicly owned, the solution is known. All that is missing is inclusion in the PQI.” Mélanie Bossé, president of the Chambre de commerce et d’industrie de Vaudreuil-Soulanges (CCIVS), adds that the economic consequences of the unfinished highway are felt across provinces. “Our businesses have long called for the optimization of Highway 20. The current situation drives customers away, delays deliveries, wastes time and creates labour challenges,” she said. “From the Port of Montreal to Toronto, companies bear the consequences.” The L’inachevée (Unfinished) campaign is led jointly by the MRC de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Développement Vaudreuil-Soulanges, the Chambre de commerce et d’industrie de Vaudreuil-Soulanges and the citizens’ committee Pour une vraie 20.
