The Bonaventure Expressway, an elevated 11-lane highway built for Expo 67, will give way to the street-level Bonaventure urban boulevards, a combined nine lanes of traffic separated by a series of green spaces. Montreal’s new, $142 million entryway is scheduled for completion in mid-2017, just in time for the city’s 375th anniversary.

The Bonaventure Expressway is partly owned by Ottawa, and is currently elevated only for a portion of its length through Montreal, dipping down to street level after it passes through Griffintown, a neighborhood lacking in adequate green space. The elevated half-mile is the final portion of the expressway to be torn down. An earlier plan to erect buildings between the two new boulevards met staunch opposition for failing to create more parks there. The final design includes about five acres of open space, lined with trees and benches, and featuring large public art installations. The greenway is being touted as a connection between neighborhoods formerly severed by the expressway. ... Demolition has shut down the highway since July 1, and is expected to be completed in September. The new roadways should be completed by the end of the year.