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The dream of heated sidewalks for Ste-Catherine St. has been iced.

The administration of Mayor Valérie Plante has decided not to pursue the idea, first proposed by former mayor Denis Coderre, because it has been judged too expensive, potentially prone to costly breakdowns and could delay the first phase of the infrastructure overhaul that has just begun on Montreal’s main commercial artery.

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The cost estimate for heating the entire 3.3 kilometres of sidewalks to be dug up as part of the Ste-Catherine St. and Phillips Square makeover has ballooned to $120 million. For the first phase of the project alone, which involves rebuilding 700 metres of Ste-Catherine and its underground infrastructure from Mansfield to Bleury Sts., the estimated cost has risen to $32 million, when granite slabs are factored in. The initial estimate was closer to $20 million.

After weeks of speculation, sources confirmed the plan was dead Monday to the Montreal Gazette. In addition to the high cost, it was forecast the extra work could delay the street reconstruction by several months, causing price overruns for the city and businesses planning to do renovation work on their buildings. The main focus of the city administration and affected merchants is that the timeline be respected.