TRAFFIC HELL TO HIT NEW LEVEL
Driving to West Island will be rough
If ever there were a need for an express train to the West Island, it’s now — with construction projects set to close major highways in Montreal over the next two weekends.
As it happens, work on the lightrail project is the cause of the first set of traffic disruptions.
Builders of the $6.3-billion Réseau express métropolitain are urging commuters to and from the West Island to take public transit on Sunday — or stay home.
That’s because starting Saturday at 6 p.m., Highway 40 in both directions, including the service road, will be closed between Highway 13 to St-Jean Blvd., diverting the 130,000 motorists who use the thoroughfare on a typical Sunday to Highway 13, Highway 20 or Highway 30.
Local traffic will be permitted for those who work in buildings on the service road or use the hotels and restaurants in the area, and there will be a special route through the work site for emergency vehicles.
Workers will demolish an old train bridge that passes over the highway just east of St-Regis Blvd., and connects to the old Doney Spur line.
Builders will tear down the bridge and clean up most of its rubble over the span of 35 hours, as the highway is slated to reopen Monday at 5 a.m.
Those who must travel to or from the West Island are encouraged to take public transit, said Jean Vincent Lacroix, a spokesperson for the REM.
However, there won’t be additional buses on the roads for the day, nor are there going to be departures added to the Vaudreuil Hudson train line, which has just three departures from Vaudreuil on a Sunday.
“We’re telling people to make it a family day, and to stay off the roads,” Lacroix said.
As disruptive as this weekend’s closure will be, they are only a warm-up for the main event: closures slated for between Nov. 8 and 13 to demolish a chunk of the old Highway 15 ramp in the middle of the Turcot Interchange.
On the night of Thursday, Nov. 8, Highway 20 westbound will be closed from the Ville-Marie to the Montreal West Interchange.
On Friday night, Highway 15 northbound will be closed just south of where it meets the Décarie Expressway, and traffic will be diverted to the Ville Marie or Highway 20 westbound.
Eastbound Highway 20 will be closed where it meets the Ville Marie, but motorists will be permitted to head south to the Champlain Bridge.
All lanes are to be reopened by the morning rush hour on Tuesday, Nov.13.
Monday, Nov. 12 is sure to be the worst day for traffic congestion.
“If people don’t adjust their habits, this is going to be total chaos,” said traffic expert Rick Leckner, formerly of CJAD.
Transport Quebec spokesperson Martin Girard said people as far south as Châteauguay could be affected by the Turcot closure, especially on the Monday.
Those who must get onto the island from the South Shore 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 will likely 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, Nov. 9 and Monday, Nov. 12 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.