DÉCARIE WILL BE A NIGHTMARE
Expect bad traffic while work is done
You know the traffic news is going to be bad when Transports Québec takes out half-page newspaper ads in Montreal dailies telling you it’s going to be bad.
“Major hindrance” reads one headline in Thursday’s papers. “Expect delays” reads another. The warnings bookend an image of Montreal’s unofficial logo, a squat orange-and-white striped construction cone. On its website, the provincial transport ministry warns motorists to expect “severe traffic congestion” in the area.
Starting Monday at 5 a.m., construction work on the Décarie Expressway and Highway 15 will force the closure of the Sherbrooke St. entrance to the Décarie Expressway northbound, and the exit leading to Sherbrooke St. off of the Décarie northbound. Drivers who usually exit there are being advised to take the Côte-St-Luc/ Queen Mary exit, which is already heavily used.
In addition, Highway 15 northbound, which connects the Champlain Bridge to the Décarie Expressway, will be reduced from two lanes to one starting at the Turcot Interchange as it connects with the Décarie. The Ville Marie Expressway westbound will also be reduced to one lane from two as it connects with the Décarie, as will Highway 20 East, which brings in drivers from the western sector of the island.
The Décarie will be reduced from three lanes to two between the Turcot Interchange and the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce tunnel. The expressway saw an average of 124,000 vehicles a day in that area in 2016.
“This could be the worst,” said Notre-Dame-de- Grâce city councillor Peter McQueen, which is saying a lot coming from a neighbourhood so negatively affected by the reconstruction of the Turcot Interchange it has spawned headlines like “Escape from N.D.G.” But McQueen added he sees a light at the end of the tunnel.
“After these closings and the reopening of the St-Jacques St. bridge that is supposed to happen by the end of 2018, things will be looking up and getting better. There’s one terrible hump still, then we’re getting better.”
The Sherbrooke St. entrance to the Décarie is expected to reopen in September. The Sherbrooke St. exit will reopen at the end of October. And the lane reductions are expected to be completed by November, said Transports Québec spokesman Martin Girard.
The rebuilding of parts of Highway 15 necessitated the closures.
“With our schedule of rebuilding the Turcot by 2020, there are many steps that have to be done, and this is one of them,” Girard said.
Police will be posted at intersections, and traffic lights will be coordinated to try to ease congestion. Beyond that, Transports Québec is advising motorists to avoid the area if possible or to take public transportation. The majority of the traffic headaches are expected during morning rush hour.
The exit and on-ramp closings will have repercussions in several neighbourhoods, McQueen said. Drivers who used to take the Sherbrooke entrance will be routed north up Décarie Blvd. to the next on-ramp at ÉdouardMontpetit Blvd. But that route will intersect with the off-ramp for Côte-St-Luc/Queen Mary that is expected to be heavily congested because of the closure of the Sherbrooke exit.
Motorists trying to use the Boulevard through Westmount to avoid congestion will be hampered by the fact that Côte-StLuc Rd. between Décarie Blvd and Westmount is down to one lane in either direction because of construction.
Many motorists will probably opt for Fielding Ave. to Isabella Ave. in Hampstead to get to the expressway, an already congested route.
On weekends, when the Ville Marie Expressway is often closed for construction, through traffic on side streets in N.D.G. will be even worse, McQueen predicted. Queen Mary Rd. will also see more traffic as locals adopt new driving routes to avoid congestion.
Residents, pedestrians and cyclists who have already complained of the effects of masses of traffic-jammed idling cars using residential streets will see more intrusions, McQueen said.
On the positive side, McQueen expects the closures to lessen traffic on Sherbrooke St., aiding merchants and residents, and allowing city officials to look into traffic-calming measures at the busy Sherbrooke-Girouard intersection that will aid pedestrians. He also thanked Transports Québec for scheduling most of the work during the less-busy summer months.
The traffic nightmares are far from over, however, McQueen noted. The Girouard on-ramp to Highway 15 southbound is slated to be closed this fall for 18 months, and work on the Turcot continues until at least 2020.