Economic Costs and Benefits of Montreal’s Endless Construction
It is 8:20 a.m. when your eyes pop open. Your alarm was supposed to go off thirty minutes ago. You rush out of your apartment, hoping to make it to your 8:35 lecture in Leacock 132, but as soon as you cut across Milton, the street is closed again. Another construction zone. By the time you reroute, the orange cones and metal fences have done their work: You’re late.
Every student and commuter in Montreal knows this feeling. Montreal is often referred to as the “city of construction”, known for road closures, detours and infrastructure projects that never seem to end. It is often forgotten that while Montreal’s road closures and construction projects impose major economic costs, they may also bring certain advantages. The question remains: do these benefits outweigh the costs?
Montreal’s infrastructure is very old. Most of the roads, bridges, and tunnels were built in the mid-20th century. While many other cities also have old infrastructure, what makes Montreal different is the climate. The harsh winters and severe weather leave behind potholes and weakened foundations. This leads to the need for constant repair work just to keep the roads functional. Each year, the city repairs between 120,000 and 200,000 potholes on major streets. These extensive repairs highlight both the expense and necessity of road maintenance.
For students, workers and commuters, Montreal’s construction means lost time, frustration and delays every day. Every extra five minutes we spend behind an orange construction cone has a cost. If you multiply that by the thousands of commuters and workers across Montreal each day, you see how it adds up very quickly. In Montreal, traffic-related delays, including delivery disruptions, cost the city over $4 billion each year, accounting for lost productivity, extra fuel, and delivery inefficiencies. According to the Montreal Gazette, congestion alone costs about $75 million each year in lost work hours and fuel. This means that students are late for class, workers are late for shifts, and deliveries take longer to arrive, all contributing to decreased productivity. In addition, delivery workers have to pay more money for gas since they can’t take quicker routes, or are affected by new traffic.
Just as the construction negatively impacts individuals, it also harms businesses. Stores or cafes that lie behind these blocked intersections have fewer customers coming through. A study by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business found that between 2012 and 2017, 41% of Canadian small businesses were affected by construction, and 65,000 of those businesses were forced to borrow money, relocate, or close.
Aware of this, the municipal government has introduced subsidy programs to help these businesses with the lost revenue. These include a one-time $5,000 lump-sum subsidy as well as more extensive aid packages that provide businesses up to $40,000 per year, depending on their documented losses. While these subsidies provide relief for struggling businesses, they also represent a direct expense for the public, meaning everyday individuals bear part of the cost.
The effects of constant construction even affect Montreal’s tourism, which is one of the city’s biggest economic drivers. Every year, millions of people come for events like Igloo Fest and Jazz Fest, as well as the food and nightlife. However, constant detours make it difficult for tourists to get around the city easily. While public transport may help to some extent, many tourists still rely on walking, biking, or driving, all of which are disrupted by the construction. For a city competing economically with places like Toronto, Boston, and New York, the construction carries a cost that may not appear directly in GDP figures but matters for long-term competitiveness. The construction has even become so iconic that orange cones have become the unofficial symbol of Montreal, sold as a souvenir in shops and museums.
On the other hand, while the massive city-wide construction leads to many disruptions, we must also remember that it creates many jobs. According to the government of Canada, the construction industry employs 298,200 workers, which is 6.8% of all jobs in Quebec. These jobs span skilled trades, engineers, architects, project managers and more. It even requires many secondary jobs like materials supply, transportation, and services. In this way, the construction stimulates significant economic activity, while also contributing to better transportation for the city in the long run. Investing in these projects could make the city more attractive to tourists and could even help boost the economy.
Moving forward, Montreal could reduce construction disruptions by coordinating projects more carefully to avoid overlapping road closures. Using faster construction methods could additionally help shorten how long roads stay closed. Sensors, for example, could be placed on roads and bridges to help detect and prevent earlier damage. Finally, using eco-friendly materials and techniques could increase the lifespan of infrastructure and minimize the amount of construction that needs to be done in the future.
It is easy to brush off Montreal's construction problem as an annoyance. After all, everyone has been stuck in traffic or detoured around a blocked street. But the economic stakes are much higher than people realize. By investing in smarter planning, innovative technologies and more efficient construction practices, Montreal has the opportunity to turn a chronic problem into a long-term economic advantage.
References
Montréal, Ville de. “Sainte-Catherine Ouest Project: Work in Progress and News.” Ville de Montréal, montreal.ca/en/articles/sainte-catherine-ouest-project-work-progress-and-news-12543. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025.
“Comment La Congestion Routière Nous Affecte-T-Elle?” CDPQ Infra | Un Modèle Novateur Pour Les Projets d’infrastructures, 24 Sept. 2021, www.cdpqinfra.com/en/news/articles/how-does-traffic-congestion-impact-us.
“Traffic Costs Montreal Millions in Lost Work Hours, Wasted Fuel: Study | Montreal Gazette.” Traffic Costs Montreal Millions in Lost Work Hours, Wasted Fuel: Study, Montreal Gazette, montrealgazette.com/news/traffic-costs-montreal-millions-in-lost-work-hours-wasted-fuel-study. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025.
Canada, Employment and Social Development. Quebec Sectoral Profile: Construction - Job Bank, Government of Canada / Gouvernement du Canada, 14 Jan. 2025, www.jobbank.gc.ca/trend-analysis/job-market-reports/quebec/sectoral-profile-construction
Montréal, Ville de. “Sainte-Catherine Ouest Project: Work in Progress and News.” Ville de Montréal, montreal.ca/en/articles/sainte-catherine-ouest-project-work-progress-and-news-12543. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025.
“Small Businesses Need Construction Mitigation Relief Now.” Canadian Federation of Independent Business, CFIB, www.cfib-fcei.ca/en/media/small-businesses-need-construction-mitigation-relief-now. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025.