Village buries dream of underground power lines

BY ANDY BLATCHFORD

andy.blatchford@transcontinental.ca

Ste. Anne de Bellevue has buried its plan to run underground power lines along its main drag.

Quebec offered to subsidize part of a project to remove hydro poles along Ste. Anne Street and connect businesses to an underground electrical system.

But Mayor Bill Tierney says the price is too high even with financial assistance.

"It's very expensive and very complicated," he said. "We don't need any more frustration on the main street in Ste. Anne."

The plan was scheduled to coincide with a major overhaul of the village's main strip.

Next year, the city will redo water pipes and repave Ste. Anne Street and its sidewalks. The popular tourist destination will also get new "urban finishings," including lamps, benches and bicycle racks, Tierney said.

The work will be funded in part by Montreal's agglomeration council.

"It's going to be a huge project without complicating it further," he said.

"It's unfortunate because the (wiring) on the main street with all the transformers is pretty ugly, although there are people who say it's part of Ste. Anne's character."

The city would have been on the hook for more than $2 million to bury the power lines, said Ste. Anne's director of public works, engineering and urban planning.

Hydro-Québec and the provincial government were prepared to pay the remainder, more than $6 million, Ginette Leclair said.