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The eastward extension of the Blue Line of the Montreal métro, officially announced Wednesday amid much fanfare, has been a long time coming.

A 5.8-kilometre extension from St-Michel station to the Galéries d’Anjou has been bandied about since the 1980s. It has been discussed, debated, studied and dangled as a promise over the course of three decades. Now the $3.9-billion project appears set to finally become a reality. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard committed funding for the preliminary work in order to have shovels in the ground by 2020 and five new métro stops in service by 2026.

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This is good news for Montrealers in St-Léonard and Anjou especially, and in adjacent neighbourhoods like Montreal North and Rivière-des-Prairies, who have been underserved by public transit for too long. This is good news for the economy, in terms of spurring development in the east end and boosting property values along the new transit corridor. This is good news for the cause of trying to get more people out of their cars and onto public transit, which eases congestion and reduces pollution.