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One of the signature parks for the city’s 375th anniversary will be separated from the old city by three lanes of traffic, a bike path and an expressway exit ramp.

The city and province presented the plan for covering the Ville-Marie Expressway on Monday morning, and it entails covering the 125-metre portion between Hotel-de-Ville Ave. and Sanguinet St. — the exit for Old Montreal, and St-Laurent Blvd.

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Originally billed as a way to improve the link between downtown and the Old Port, the covering of the Ville-Marie Expressway was promised to seamlessly connect a new public space with the Champ-de-Mars, the old military parade ground which now serves as a parking lot behind City Hall.

The sketch of the project made public Monday morning showed a two-lane expressway exit cutting through the future park. The plans also call for the Sanguinet St. off-ramp to be closed, which is the main downtown access for cars exiting the Ville-Marie Expressway at St-Laurent Blvd. Traffic will be diverted to St-Denis St.