Weekend of hell on the outskirts of Turcot and Champlain

Archival Photo Chantal Poirier

Matthew Payen

Thursday, march 15, 2018 14:04

UPDATE
Thursday, march 15, 2018 14:04

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Motorists wishing to borrow the Turcot interchange or the Champlain bridge this weekend are called to change their plans, under the penalty of getting caught in major congestion.

The barriers on the road network to the south of the island of Montréal will reach record levels on Friday 22 p.m. to Monday, 5 h.

We must proceed with the demolition of the old infrastructure in the framework of the two large road projects Turcot and Champlain.

However, it is this Sunday that should take place the parade of the Holy Patrick, that will also block a large portion of the streets in the city centre.

“We know that this is an important weekend in terms of congestion, but there were deadlines to be respected for Turcot and Champlain, therefore the work had to be done this weekend”, explained in a press briefing the spokesperson of the ministry of Transport (MTQ) Martin Girard.

“Both projects focus their work, forcing the closures of routes during the weekends, so, sometimes, we don’t have the option of doing them at the same time,” added Benoit Chamontin, communications adviser of the consortium Signature Saint-Laurent (SSL), responsible for the construction of the new Champlain bridge.

Obstacles

On the side of Turcot, nine of the twelve ramps will be closed and the east-west axis will be completely closed in both directions between the interchange Saint-Pierre and the Ville-Marie tunnel, at the height of the exit n°5.

An extreme situation caused by the dismantling of the old highway 720, and that will happen again for several weekends until next June, said the MTQ.

“In this configuration, we recommend that people wishing to go to the airport or back to take the A40 or the A520,” said Mr. Girard.

For Champlain, the work will focus on The Île-des-soeurs, where the two structures will be destroyed.

Highway 10 will not be accessible from the city centre to the Champlain bridge, and the outputs n°57 and 61 of the A15 in the direction of south will be closed, as the boulevard de l’île-des-Sœurs on the A15.

“For residents of The Île-des-Sœurs, detours will be put in place by the boulevard René-Lévesque, which will be open in both directions, and boulevard Gaétan-Laberge,” said Mr. Chamontin, stating that the work on the Champlain bridge would result in closures of lanes for six weekends in 2018.

For Montrealers who want to avoid this area, the Victoria bridge will exceptionally be two lanes towards the South Shore. Otherwise, the Jacques-Cartier bridge or the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine are the only other options.

St. Patrick’s Day

The many obstacles of the weekend do not occur at the best time, to recognize the representatives of the MTQ and of SSL, since the défilé de la Saint-Patrick will be held Sunday afternoon on the boulevard De Maisonneuve.

“We expect nearly 50,000 festival-goers from noon to 15 h, reported the spokesman of the City of Montreal Philippe Sabourin. There will be barriers between the streets Saint-Marc and Jeanne-Mance, 7 h to 17 h. therefore, We invite the people who want to join the feast to come by public transport.”

Mr. Sabourin states that the STM will increase service on Sunday for the occasion.