Turcot work coupled with Sunday marathon means more traffic headaches

Diverting orange cones, taking detours and sitting in traffic, has become a normal routine for Montreal drivers, and that kind of hassle could become more of a mess.

Overnight Friday, a stretch of Highway 20 was closed in both directions from the Angrignon overpass until 5 a.m., Monday morning.

Meanwhile, if you’re on the westbound Ville-Marie Expressway,  you won’t be able to access the Champlain Bridge or Highway 20 West.

And that’s not all.

READ MORE: Turcot Interchange closures create ‘perfect storm’ of traffic

“We have the marathon this weekend, so Sunday from 4 a.m-12 p.m., a complete closure of the Jacques-Cartier Bridge and we have streets around Montreal closed for that marathon as well,” said Global News traffic reporter, Debbi Marsellos.

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For a complete list of road closures consult the Rock’n’Roll Marathon website.

READ MORE: Is construction on the Turcot Interchange making Saint-Henri residents sick?

But if motorists think the construction in the city is bad now, it’s about to get a whole lot worse.

Beginning in October and November, drivers heading downtown will find massive construction leading to major congestion.

“The Turcot interchange will be completely revamped, they’re making a new Autoroute – the 136 – and so they’ll be reducing lanes to divert traffic onto the 136 starting next month,” said Marsellos.

READ MORE: A-720 east will close in November as Turcot Interchange project continues

That means, drivers coming from Highways 15 and 20 will be forced onto route 136 – which will run parallel to the Ville-Marie.

And if that weren’t bad enough, the ramps from Decarie south and the 20 east will be closed on weekends from November until February or March 2017.

For a full list of closures, visit Transports Quebec’s website.