Transport Quebec dodges talk of lane closures on Ville-Marie

Transport Quebec said Tuesday it can’t confirm a report that two out of four lanes of a main route downtown will be closed for several months starting next October.

On Tuesday, La Presse cited documents it obtained to report that the eastbound Ville-Marie Expressway will see two of its four lanes closed over three kilometres from the Décarie Expressway entrance ramp until Guy St., as part of the Turcot project. It also stated that the Highway 15 North entrance to the Ville-Marie will also be closed around that time for a period of a year.

Sarah Bensadoun, a spokesperson for Transport Quebec, said it’s too soon to talk about detours that may or may not be needed in a year’s time.

“Generally, we start planning detours a year before they are supposed to start, and we work for several months on them,” Bensadoun said, adding that the province generally can’t confirm road closures that are six months away or later.

She said Transport Quebec is still finalizing plans for the longterm closure of the Montreal West Interchange, which is supposed to happen by year’s end. The plan is for the Montreal West entrances and exits to Highway 20 to be closed at the base of Ste-Annede-Bellevue Blvd. until 2020, and relocated to the other side of the highway near Angrignon Blvd. A temporary road will lead motorists to and from the highway. Bensadoun said in September that road would have just one lane of traffic in each direction, but on Tuesday, she said it’s possible that plan will be revised before the end of the year.