Grout crumbles at Montreal's Place des Festivals

The City of Montreal admits it made a mistake when building the Quartier des Spectacles, next to Place des Arts.

Only two years after the Place des Festivals was built, all of the grout between the slabs on the ground is already coming apart.

"The product wore down quicker than we had predicted," said Quartier des Spectacles project manager Martin Maillet.

The city said it will all have to be replaced over the next two years with stronger material, costing Montreal taxpayers an estimated $644,000.

The grout was tested, but after all the wear and tear from the festival crowds, and the water running over it from the built in fountain, the grout started to crumble said the city.

Officials called the Place des Festivals is a one-of-a-kind construction, and argued they had nothing to compare it to when choosing the building materials.

Should have seen it coming: opposition

Projet Montréal opposition party members said the public shouldn't have to pay for a mistake made by Mayor Gérald Tremblay's administration.

"You have the biggest interactive fountain in Canada, and oh my God there's water destroying the joints. You have to plan, you have to plan before you do it," said city councillor François Limoges.

But Maillet said the product's failure could not have been predicted.

"We had no way of knowing it would not stand up to the high traffic and design of the area," said Maillet.

City hall will vote on the repair plans Thursday night, and if approved, the material will be replaced in stages starting this spring, and again in the spring of 2012.