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In a summer series called Under Construction, the Montreal Gazette will monitor one project along St-Denis St., with weekly updates on the progress of the work andhow merchants are coping, and explainwhat special measures are in place to ensure the project is completed on time. We’ll also show readers unique aspects of the construction process, with a different angle every week.

If you had looked at the right time, you would have seen artifacts of Montreal’s history in the dusty pit that is now St-Denis St.

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The ancient infrastructure, some more than 100 years old, is being replaced.

A tour of the site last week did not reveal any of the old pipes — most were taken away several weeks ago. However, photographs of the sewer submitted by the city showed tunnels made out of red bricks, with grout holding them together, built in 1943.

“It was done on site by masons and day labourers — and the wall was three bricks wide,” said Fernando Rivera, an engineer and project manager for the city’s public works department.