Brace for epic closures from Friday through Monday
The Trudeau airport is telling passengers to plan to be three hours early for their flights. Sacred Heart School of Montreal — which has a large West Island contingent, is telling parents to consider carpooling or public transit. These are two examples of preparations being made for upcoming worse-than-usual traffic on Montreal’s roads. While motorists are becoming accustomed to major highway closures over the weekend as part of the reconstruction of the Turcot Interchange, the next major closure also will affect traffic on Friday and Monday. The worst day is likely to be Monday, as the access routes between the Ville-Marie Expressway and Highway 20 will be closed. The access for Highway 20 West from the Ville Marie will be closed starting Thursday at 11:59 p.m., through until Tuesday at 5 a.m. and the Ville-Marie access from Highway 20 will be closed Friday at 10:30 p.m. until Tuesday at 5 a.m. The closures are needed so crews can demolish part of an elevated section of the old Highway 20. Highway 15 North will be closed from the entrance off the Champlain Bridge to the Décarie Expressway from Friday at 11:59 p.m. to Monday at 5 a.m. There’s also work happening on the Mercier Bridge, which will be reduced to one lane in each direction from Friday at 10 p.m. to Monday at 5 a.m. The Mercier exit from Highway 20 West will be closed from Friday at 11:59 p.m. to Monday at 5 a.m. One out of three lanes on Highway 20 West between Angrignon Blvd. and the St-Pierre Interchange will be closed according to the same schedule.
NEW CONFIGURATION ON THE BONAVENTURE EXPRESSWAY
In case things weren’t interesting enough, starting Monday, there will be only one lane available on the Bonaventure approach to the Champlain Bridge between Carrie-Derick St. and Nuns’ Island, and that will remain the case until the new Champlain Bridge opens in June. All Montreal-area drivers should consider working from home or taking public transit on Monday, because Transport Quebec is predicting major congestion on nearly all major highways and even the roads leading to them. Transport Quebec spokesperson Martin Girard said people as far south as Châteauguay could be affected by the Turcot closure, especially on Monday. Those who must get onto the island from the South Shore on Monday are urged to avoid the Mercier and Champlain bridges, and opt for the Victoria and Jacques Cartier or the Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine tunnel. Of course, all those roads probably will have higher-than-normal traffic volume, as Transport Quebec predicts backlogs as far away as Highway 13, the Jacques Cartier Bridge and the Metropolitain Expressway. The good news is that train service will be free on Friday and Monday on the Vaudreuil-Hudson and Candiac lines, with 14 additional off-peak departures added to the Vaudreuil line with stops at Dorval, Vendôme and Lucien L’Allier only. There will be 200 parking spaces reserved for people to take the train at the Jardins Dorval shopping centre. On the South Shore, free shuttle bus service will be provided between the Châteauguay terminus and the Ste-Catherine station of the Candiac line during the morning and evening crunches. Full details are listed at turcot. gouv.qc.ca.