Montreal has finally received the part needed to complete repairs to the water main that burst on Aug. 16, sending a towering geyser into the air near the Jacques-Cartier Bridge.

That means construction will begin soon and will cause traffic delays at the intersection of René-Lévesque Boulevard and de Lorimier Boulevard, city spokesman Philippe Sabourin said Wednesday.

He said a six-metre section of pipe, just over two meters in diameter, needed to be replaced. It will take about a month to fix, as of Monday.

“We’re asking everyone to stay away from this area,” Sabourin said.

“Commute by public transport. Bicycle. Any solution would be better than using your car because all traffic would have to stay away from René-Lévesque.”

René-Lévesque will be closed east of de Lorimier Boulevard during construction.

“We know it’s going to be a difficult time for drivers,” said Sabourin, who called this construction an urgent effort because part of the city depends on pipes for drinking water.

While drinking water still reaches the east end of the city, he said Montreal wants to finish this project before winter to reduce costs.

At the time of the incident, the director of the City of Montreal’s water department estimated that 40 million liters of drinking water had been lost. Approximately 50 residences and 20 workplaces were flooded in the Ville-Marie district.