Construction cones on Montreal road vanish after nearly two decades

Construction cones vanish after 16-year stay After almost two decades in the same place, orange pylons on a Montreal street have disappeared.

Construction cones are an emblematic eye sore that Montrealers are all too familiar with.

While the orange pylons come and go with construction, it appears a handful haven't moved in quite some time--nearly two decades.

Until now, that is.

Cones lining the de la Cathedrale entrance to the Ville Marie expressway are seen in every photo of the ramp taken by Google street view since 2007.

On Monday, La Presse reported the cones had been there for 16 years, to the chagrin of local business owners and residents. Later that day, however, the cones were gone.

The Ville-Marie tunnel is currently in the midst of a 10-year renovation project.

In a response to CTV News Wednesday morning, Quebec's Transport Ministry (MTQ) said it was looking into the matter.

A spokesperson said that because of the renovation project, "there is, therefore, a lot of activity in this tunnel and it is normal to find signs of various interventions depending on the time and place."

It says the cones are there for efficiency when closing the tunnel for the night and maintenance, adding the cones are only in place during the summer.

However, Google Street View documented cones on the ramp in April, October and November.

The curious case comes one month after Montreal held a summit on construction sites.

The city found that 3,500 cones are not serving any purpose and are often abandoned.

The administration is considering changes, including a 12-hour window on installing or removing cones.