The CJAD Traffic Centre building in downtown Laval

CJAD is saying goodbye to its iconic traffic centre megacomplex, moving the hundreds of employees who work there into a new campus in Laval.

The decision was mainly for real estate reasons, CJAD Vice-President of Traffic Services Marlin Awirilikalo told me. “The building is almost 50 years old, and it was showing its age. We’ve just finished construction on the new campus, so we’ll begin the process of moving the traffic centre there over the coming 15 months.”

The move will start with the Eastern Montreal traffic department, followed by Bridges, Transit, West Island and finally the critical Decarie and Met departments. “We want to make sure everything is running smoothly before we touch those critical areas,” Awirilikalo said. “People rely on this massive team for accurate traffic reports every 15 minutes.”

The CJAD Traffic Centre is responsible for an estimated 6% of Montreal’s GDP. Once the teams have vacated the Dormez-Vous Memorial Pavillion, the building will be taken over by developers who will tear it down to create a 30,000-unit condo complex with space left over for a nature park.