2024-05-08 20:19:32
Attention travelers who don’t want to miss their flight: the chaotic construction season will begin in a big way on a sensitive stretch of Highway 40 toward Montreal-Trudeau Airport during Patriots Day weekend.
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“It’s going to be one of the biggest weekend disruptions we’ve had in Quebec in years. We have to understand that we’re blocking not one, but two major highways, the 15 and 40,” warns transportation planning expert Pierre Barrieau.
Highway 40, between boulevards de l’Acadie and Décarie, will be completely closed westbound for two weekends, the one on Patriots’ Day and another to be determined during the summer.
This is a nerve center of the metropolis, where up to 200,000 vehicles can travel per day.
“The consequences will be nightmarish if people do not take precautions to plan their trips,” warned Sarah Bensadoun, spokesperson for the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility (MTMD), during the annual press briefing to present the spring and summer projects.
44 major projects
A total of 44 major construction sites will complicate the lives of motorists, six fewer than last year in the same period.
The most popular places to see will be downtown Montreal and the Highway 40 corridor, especially on the West Island and in the Île-aux-Tourtes bridge area (see below).
“44 construction sites does not necessarily mean less impact than 51 construction sites. But the good news is that we are at several completion points. There are some who have been driving for several years. We are nearing the end, comments Pierre Barrieau.
If the work on the Ville-Marie and Viger tunnels were to be completed towards the end of autumn, new infrastructure projects will create headaches further west until 2026, including in the Saint-Jacques and Saint-Antoine streets (see below).
Meanwhile, the construction site on Rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest continues for a second year, with several sections closed from May to October.
Local obstacles
This without taking several local obstacles into account.
In the east of the city, the Rapid Bus Service (SRB) project continues on Boulevard Pie-IX, with a complete section of traffic that will be closed on the east side until December between Avenue Pierre-De Coubertin and rue Notre-Dame Est.
In the north, motorists will have to deal with the work of the Express Bike Network and SRB on Henri-Bourassa Boulevard, between Marcellin-Wilson and Lajeunesse streets.
Five projects to watch
Highway 40
Monster traffic is expected on the westbound Metropolitan Autoroute, between Boulevard de l’Acadie and Autoroute Décarie, during two weekends of complete closure, including the Patriot Day long weekend, May 17 to 21.
Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine Bridge-Tunnel
The mega-construction continues, with two lanes towards Montreal and one towards the South Shore. An update on the status of the work is planned for the summer.
West Island
Road reconstruction work continues between Morgan Boulevards, in Baie-D’Urfé, and Saint-Charles, in Kirkland. Three lanes will be available at all times, with the exception of a few overnight closures, the dates of which will need to be monitored.
Île-aux-Tourtes Bridge
Bridge work will continue throughout the summer, which will result in complete closures in this sector of Highway 40 on some weekends, the dates for which have not yet been specified.
Downtown Montreal
Major infrastructure works will cause headaches in the west of the city centre, with complete closures of part of rue Saint-Antoine and part of rue Saint-Jacques during the Christmas holidays, end of July.
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