The return of traditional traffic jams in Montreal after the calm of confinement, coupled with major works, such as those in the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel, are infuriating truckers who no longer want to come there.
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“I transport powdered cement. We leave from Joliette and bring it to our customers on the South Shore. On average, I can spend an hour and even an hour and a half just in this portion,” laments Olivier Sénéchal, truck driver for a company in Repentigny, during an interview with The newspaper.
Courtesy picture
Olivier Senechal. Trucker
Usually he can make three trips each day, but with the current jobs he only makes two.
“I am paid by the hour, but I know some who are paid by the trip and some no longer want to go to Montreal because they are losing money.”
“Everyone is wasting too much time,” complains one of them on Truck Stop Québec’s Facebook site.
“I carry at night precisely for that,” adds another.
“On average, I lose between 2 and 3 hours a day,” says a trucker.
From another era
When The newspaper happened last Thursday afternoon, the traffic jams stretched for several kilometres, to the Anjou interchange.
“We live with this every day,” says Alain Bédard, boss of TFI International, the largest trucking company in the country.
“It is certain that the road network, that of Montreal, is an old network, which has been underfunded. We end up with a Metropolitan Boulevard from the 1950s, and a tunnel from the 1960s, and they have to invest significant sums to bring it up to standard,” he analyzes.
Waiting time in traffic jams and increased fuel costs have a major impact on transport costs.
“We have to increase the bill to the customer who will pass it on to consumers,” he said.
According to Benoît Therrien, of Truck Stop Québec, transport companies could charge even more very soon in order to translate all the time lost in Montreal.
“The companies could charge a minimum of $100 more per delivery to cover their costs related to the congestion of the 25. And with the work that will intensify, the bill will be even higher,” he says.
Montreal is poorly thought out
“Montreal is one of the worst cities in North America to go for delivery. I know several who are very discouraged when they have to go to Saint-Laurent, for example,” says Benoît Therrien.
Alain Bédard is less categorical, but admits that Montreal is more bogged down than Toronto.
“They made different decisions there, but you have to remember that Montreal is an island, so it’s not easy to get there. It’s like Manhattan, New York,” he says.
Moreover, according to the TomTom ranking, a benchmark in the field, Montreal is in seventh place in North America and second among the most congested Canadian cities after Vancouver, but ahead of Toronto, which has a population of almost two times more important.
In total, in 2021, 65 hours were lost in traffic on the Montreal network. This figure is likely to increase this year with the proliferation of construction sites.
“I dare not imagine … seriously, it’s going to be hell in that corner,” says Olivier Sénéchal.
Bypass the city
For Benoît Therrien, of Truck Stop Québec, the majority of American cities have a belt of highways that allow trucks to avoid downtown areas.
“Besides, the warehouses are there, on the outskirts, so it doesn’t interfere with traffic in major centers, it allows greater fluidity.”
In the meantime, the situation risks further discouraging young people from becoming truck drivers.
“When you have a guy who leaves Quebec and goes to Toronto, and who is caught two hours in traffic in Montreal, if he is paid by mileage, it is far from doing his business,” explains Alain Bedard.
Traffic, the pandemic that has put pressure on drivers, changes in mentality… several reasons why the profession is losing ground.
“It’s less and less popular as a job and it’s leading to a labor shortage in our sector. It’s quite a problem,” continues Mr. Bédard.
Le bordel du tunnel
Motorists will have to be patient on Autoroute 25 over the next few months, as work on the 25 will intensify.
In principle, the work should be completed in 2024, but the Ministry of Transport is already reviewing the schedule.
The teams are working on the repair of the tube of the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine bridge-tunnel in a southerly direction and on the reconstruction of the Highway 25 roadway in the same direction.
“Travel time on Highway 25 is 3 to 6 times longer than normal […] depending on the days of the week, the hours and of course the incidents and breakdowns”, confirms the ministry.